Thursday, June 12, 2008

The Pastor and His Son

by Bonnie Calhoun

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts.

This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, "OK, dad, I'm ready."
*
**His Pastor dad asked, "Ready for what?" *

"Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out."

Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down rain."

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, "But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?"

Dad answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather."

Despondently, the boy asks, ?Dad, can I go? Please?"

His father hesitated for a moment then said, "Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son."

"Thanks Dad!"

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered.
He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, "What can I do for you, son?"

With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE."

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed. "Thank you, son! And God Bless You!"

Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, "Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?"

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.

As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, "No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, "I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away."

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, "Who on earth could this be? Nobody e ver rings my bell or comes to see me." I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, "Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU." Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more. You see---I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God's little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell."

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son... Except for One. This Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named.

5 Comments:

  1. Not Afraid of Lawyers said...
    First, thank you for successful Blogger HTML tips from a 2007 page of yours.

    But seriously, Bonnie, wasn't this story a bit heavy-handed and trite?

    Can you take criticism?

    JC might fill youz with joy, but this story is strictly preaching to the choir. Of course, "The Left Behind" series made a fortune for its creators, but it (okay, I didn't read 'em) painted a vast landscape that interested people. No, I'm not complaining that your (intrinsically small) post isn't a novel.

    Perhaps I would not find anything of "Christian Patriotism" inspiring, because the Bible reads as a confused document. Why don't writers have a more critical take on such a poorly written document?

    It's got things in it that are strictly contemporary, like what the reparations should be for stealing a goat. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a goat in person. I live in NYC these days. What about native Alaskans?

    The Bible is hardly definitive, people interpret it in wildly different ways.

    Answer this question: How much and what kinds of stress are in Heaven?

    --
    Harvey Mars
    Bonnie S. Calhoun said...
    You're very welcome Harvey.

    And your "criticism" doesn't bother me one bit. Jesus tells us in the Bible that we, as Christians would be hated for His sake...so you're just fitting in step with what the Book says!

    I did read the whole left Behind series...frankly it was created as a work of "fiction" and not as fact. I didn't particularly care for the writing...but that is just me.

    I don't look at Christianity as a "patriotism". Christianity is defined by the depths of the relationship that you have with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

    And frankly my dear friend, the Bible is in no way confusing. I've read it through at least five times in the last twenty years, and I find it fascinating.

    I also should probably tell you that I teach Bible study, and have done so for the last eleven years, so I could talk to you about the Bible for years!

    You must realize that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by a group of men that He laid his Spirit upon.

    You consider it to be poorly written. That's probably because two thousand years ago and beyond, people spoke differently than they do now. (I take it that you don't like Shakespeare or Keats either)

    The book is also historical in nature, chronicling the lives of 22 generations of Jews...so some of it like the goat part...are just that...old world records of events in the lives of it writers.

    And actually the bible is very definitive...LOL...people just choose to read the words, and throw out the ones they don't like.

    To answer your question: There will be no stress in heaven, the Lord will dry all our tears, and if you read the account in Luke 16 about the rich man and poor man dying and passing over, you will see who wound up with the stress.

    LOL...and one last thing! The Bible is God's letter to His children, so that they can learn to understand His character. Forgive me if I speak out of turn, but you don't appear to be a Christian...so what are you doing reading other people's mail :-)

    God bless you my friend!
    Not Afraid of Lawyers said...
    Ah, no I'm not a hater...

    As for reading other people's mail, it's required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and everyone signs to acknowledge they realize it is done and will abide by the company's Internet policy.

    I asked: How much and what kinds of stress are in Heaven?

    You responded: I teach Bible study, and have done so for the last eleven years, so I could talk to you about the Bible for years! There will be no stress in heaven...

    Well, I guess bible study has insulated you from challenging questions?

    There once was this Arch-Angel named Lucifer, the brightest light in the sky or some such. But the Angel grew jealous of God's power, and persuaded "legions" of Angels to join him in overthrowing God.

    That's major stress, Bonnie. Jealously is a form of stress.

    So, these Angels, beings created directly by God, got all stressed out in Heaven. Heaven is not free from stress. The bible says so by the Lucifer story. God apparently does not radiate feel-good vibes to those in his presence.

    In another forum, the "born agains" explained that stress was able to happen in Heaven because there is free will in Heaven.

    Still, that's a jarring concept for some, that God's Heaven is not a uptopia, that the afterlife is not free from stress.

    Biologically speaking, an organism without stress dies.

    More questions for you...

    To what extent might you believe in Evolution?
    How literal is the story of Adam and Eve and how old is the Earth?

    If I propounded that God intended for Man to get kicked out of the Garden of Eden (thus setting up original sin), why would I be wrong?

    --
    Natural State Research
    Bonnie S. Calhoun said...
    Sigh...Read the Bible, and let the Holy Spirit give you understanding!
    Anonymous said...
    Bonnie, there is no saving this lost soul. He is a hater. Sadly, though, I believe that he hates himself. Pray for him.

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