Friday, September 26, 2003
Friday, September 26, 2003
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in
order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light.
I wonder, though, how many people are turned off by Christians who have forgotten who they
are. This may be particularly true of a church with a rich tradition--like the church at Edinburgh. It
is always tempting to congratulate ourselves on what we've already accomplished. There is
danger for churches that are always looking back and reliving a noble past. Such a church has
been compared to the fabled "floogee bird," which is said to fly backwards instead of forward,
singing one monotonous refrain: "I don't know where I'm going, but just look where I've been!"
We need to be reminded from time to time who we are. God has chosen a special people.
(1 Peter 2.9
NRSV)
Ernest Gordon found God in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. He wrote of his
experience in a book called THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE KWAI. How did he find God? He
found him through the witness of loving Christians--fellow prisoners, who were willing to give up
even their lives for him. Unfortunately, when Ernest Gordon returned home to Scotland,
convinced that he should become a minister, he found something else. He said, "As soon as I
returned from the jungle I took up the study of theology at Edinburgh. My first impressions almost
caused me to return immediately to the jungle!" What happened was that he attended services
in a sparsely-filled Church one Sunday evening. He was in full uniform. Before the service began
he was asked to move because he was sitting in somebody else's pew! Fortunately, though he
was taken aback by this experience, he wasn't turned off from the Church entirely. He finished
seminary and went on to become chaplain at Princeton University.
Lord Jesus, may I chose to faithfully do your will. Amen.
