This one seems particularly interested in our congregation’s history. He goes around gingerly touching the stone plaques on the narthex wall, and talking about where he has seen such plaques mounted in other church buildings in our city.
And then there’s the book — the history of our church written by one of our members a decade ago, which he had found in the church library. He’s so interested in that book. Where can I get one? he asked. Don’t know, I replied. Why not ask so-and-so, and he darted off down the corridor.
In our Sunday school class that morning we had been discussing the issue of welcoming the stranger, and how hard it is to invite a friend to church, much less someone we don’t know — and then making visitors feel welcome.
The sermon that morning was a powerful exposition of the gospel, based on the decisions of the “Council of Jerusalem” (Acts 15) which decided that Christians would not have first to become Jews, and that the grace of God was absolutely free, no strings attached — really too good to be true, for most. Quite unbelievable. So unbelievable that Christians are always attaching strings, of some kind or other.
Well, after church, there was that strange visitor again, still talking about getting his very own copy of that book. He was obsessed about it.
After hanging up my robe, and making my way down the stairs to the exit, there he came, bounding up the stairs, book in hand! “My own copy!” he said. I’ve never seen a child on Christmas morning as joyful as was this man with his own copy of the history of our congregation.
Christ was visiting our church this Sunday morning. He was not the kind of visitor photographed for evangelism booklets, but there he was!
I do so hope he found the grace of God at our church and that he will come back! God’s gifts come in the strangest packages!
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