Many years ago in London General, William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was out walking with his son, Bramwell, who was only 12 or 13 years old. He surprised his son by taking him into a bar that was crowded with people. Unsurprisingly, most of them were drunk. The bar reeked of smoke and alcohol.
General Booth then told his son. These are our people. These are the people that I want you to live for and bring to Christ. Many years later, his son wrote that this lesson never left him. Even as an adult, he still lived. For those people, his mission was still to bring the broken and the lost back to God.
I heard a story about a pastor who was sent to a new church. The big day came. And the new pastor arrived to preach for his first Sunday. On that Sunday, he also brought his 11-year-old special needs daughter. No one in this church had met the pastor or his daughter, and they could have easily acted, standoffish and uneasy.
But yet, the people on this small country church were kind and accepting. They welcome both the pastor and his daughter with open arms. After the service was finished, the pastor took his daughter to his new office where he asked her what she thought of this new church and she said, I like it here. This smells like God, general William Booth.
Got it right. And the invitation is clear. The Bible is for everyone, especially the broken and the forgotten. These are God’s people when we love. Others, it smells like God. This has been everyday miracles by hope, mindfulness, and prayer.
In the year 1818, a 26-year-old Catholic priest by the name of Joseph Moore was preparing for the Christmas Eve service at his church in the Austrian Alps. And while cleaning up the church in preparation, he found out that his organ had broken. This was not good. I mean, here’s this young guy that is probably new to this church.
If you’ve ever gone through art history class, you’re probably familiar with a painting called The Light of the World. It was painted by the British artist Holman Hunt, and hangs in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It’s one of the most iconic religious paintings in history. The painting depicts Jesus standing outside of a small, dilapidated cottage.
I was recently listening to the U2 album, all that you Can’t Leave Behind, and I came across a song called Grace. The lyrics say this, grace takes the blame, covers the shame, removes the stain, but once was hurt, but once was friction. What left a mark? No longer stings because grace makes beauty out of ugly things.
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