____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ June 13, 2004 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) One of the Saddest Things I Have Ever Seen (Raymond E. Harris) 2) The Faithful (Johnny Richardson) 3) The Stranger (Mike Holliway) ____________________________________________________ -1- One of the Saddest Things I Have Ever Seen by Raymond E. Harris Yes, I would like to share with you one of the most touching, saddest things I have ever seen. The occasion was the funeral of a young man twenty years of age. He was the son of a dear brother and sister in Christ. The young man had been struck by a car while riding a motorcycle. He lay critically injured for seven days and, finally, on the eighth day, his life slipped away. The boy was an only child and the apple of his parents' eye. For twenty years they had heaped love and affection upon this, their beloved son. The young man was evidently well-known and well-liked by his contemporaries, as a large percentage of those present for the funeral were young people. As you might expect, I found the parents overwhelmed with grief. The father sat in a daze. He sat for long periods of time with his face buried in his hands. The mother had wept till the tears would no longer come. She sat limp, leaning on the shoulder of a loved one. The funeral service proceeded in the usual way with a group from the church singing some songs, a reading, a prayer, and a short address by the local evangelist. At the conclusion of the service, those present were allowed to view the deceased one last time. In due time, I found myself moving toward the casket. As I stepped forward for one last look, the father, with a quiet but firm voice, called my name and motioned for me to come to him. I stopped before his chair and he said, "Raymond, when everyone but the family is out, I want to say a prayer at the casket." There were still a number of people solemnly and methodically making their way from the chapel. When the last row of non-relatives was being dismissed, I stepped back to the father's chair. I said, "Tell me again, exactly what you want to do." The father repeated, "When everyone but the relatives are out, I want to lead a prayer." I replied, "Do you think you can do it?" He answered, "I can." I went directly to the undertaker and explained the father's request. With remarkable finesse and quickness he asked the pallbearers to step out of the room and called the family together before the casket. Of course, I cannot quote the prayer verbatim, but it was so vivid that the thought remains firm in my mind. The father stepped to the casket, folded his hands, bowed his head over the body of his dead son, and prayed thus: "Our Father, we thank you for letting us have this boy these twenty years. We thank you for all joy, happiness and pleasure that he has brought into our lives. We are so thankful, Dear God, for the love that he gave to us, for all that we meant to each other. But now, Father, we can go no further, we can do no more. Oh Dear Father, we pray, we hope we did all that could be done... Father, we know he is in the hands of a just God...for our boy...he has gone from us and we can no longer see him... Oh, God, help him any way you can. And now, Father, forgive us of our sins. Give us the strength and courage to go on... And help us, Father, help us to walk in your way that we may overcome the world and be allowed to come and be with you eternally. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen." Three steps later his knees buckled and he fell to the floor. Three strong men lifted him back to his feet and assisted him to the car. The mother, past crying, gasped for breath and could no longer stand alone. As the last of the family passed out of the door, the undertaker swiftly closed the casket and gave directions for the removal of the flowers. I turned away and wept as I have not wept in a long, long time. Truly, it was one of the saddest things I have ever seen! You see, THE BOY WAS NOT A CHRISTIAN! -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, March 7, 2004 ____________________________________________________ -2- The Faithful by Johnny Richardson In communication we often have difficulty in being understood. What about your concepts of certain words or events? What concept do you have when you hear the word faithful? The word is often used. "He is faithful"; "He is not faithful." We pray, "Help us to be faithful." We talk about the "faithful few." Usually the concept is formed according to how one attends services. If he attends all the services, he is faithful. If he misses some, he is not very faithful. While one must attend the services of the church, one may attend all the services of the church and still not be faithful. What does the Bible say about being faithful? God is faithful. The word faithful conveys the idea of being trustworthy or reliable. The Hebrew writer exhorts, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised...)" (Heb. 10:23). Peter writes, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). John writes, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Christ and Moses were faithful. "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus: who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house" (Heb. 3:1,2). Were these just present for the assemblies, or was the writer speaking of their total dedication in their lives to God? We know the answer. The faithful must be concerned with every aspect of life. He is faithful with his life. The Christian is "bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20). Paul could say, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me...." The faithful one does not conform to the world, but is transformed by the renewing of his mind. Faithfulness demands purity of life. To be faithful, one must be faithful with that which is entrusted to him. A Christian is a steward; he holds in trust or manages that which God grants him. If we are faithful we will not be overly concerned with materialism, the laying up treasure for ourselves. The faithful will lay up treasure in heaven. One does this as he does good, as he is rich in good works, ready to distribute and willing to share (1 Tim. 6:18). The faithful must have great concern with the gospel that is entrusted to them. The apostles were to teach those taught to observe the things commanded them. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Each Christian has the responsibility to share that faith with others as God gives him ability. Not everyone possesses the same ability. Paul told Timothy, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). To teach the truth, we must teach the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (Gal. 1:8,9; 2 John 9). The faithful must be faithful in trials. Often, those who are "faithful" when the sun is shining are washed away by the rain. Every Christian who is faithful must determine to face adversity. Some never make that determination. With that determination, one can then develop the patience necessary to hold fast. This is the significance of the verse, "...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). As we speak of the faithful, let us never use it without understanding the depth of the meaning. Let us never think of ourselves as self-righteous or an exclusive club in a local church. But let us thank God for the grace given unto us and be mindful of those who are struggling to be faithful. -- via The Jackson Drive Admonisher, March 10, 1985 ____________________________________________________ -3- The Stranger by Mike Holliway A few months after I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was welcomed quite easily around town. As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. Mum taught me to love the Word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries, and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill, and me to our first major league baseball game and he was always encouraging us to see movies and even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. The stranger was an incessant talker! Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mum would quietly get up (while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places) leave the room, and go to her bedroom; read her Bible, and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house -- not from us, from our friends, or adults. But our longtime visitor used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home -- not even for cooking, but the stranger felt like we needed exposure, and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and always pretty embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man/woman relationship were wrongly influenced by the stranger. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. I really think mother was praying for us, as time after time he opposed the values of my parents, yet was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family on Morningside Drive. But if I were to walk into my parents' living room today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? We always just called him TV. -- Via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, March 21, 2004 ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________