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A WORD FROM THE PASTOR
A Receptive Heart!
There is a beautiful story about the pencil. The pencil maker took the pencil aside, just before putting it into the box, he said, "There are five things you need to know before I send you out into the world." He continued, "Always remember, never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.
- You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand.
- You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.
- You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
- The most important part of you will always be what's inside.
- On every surface on which you are used, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."
The same applies to each one of us too.
Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus was not interested in his popularity rating. He was interested to know about his personal identity. Peter rightly said, "You are the Messiah, Son of the living God." It was not his own discovery of Jesus, but God the Father revealed to him to make this profound profession of faith.
If we could find our personal answer to Jesus' question, we will be able to make ourselves useful to our contemporaries. How?
We have to undergo the process that the pencil undergoes.
- We will be able to do many great things, but only if we allow ourselves to be held in God's hand, and allow other human beings access to the many gifts we possess.
- We will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but we'll need it to become a stronger person.
- We will be able to correct any mistakes we might make.
- The most important part will always be what's on the inside of you.
- On every surface we walk, we must leave our mark. No matter what the situation, we must continue to do our duties to the best of our abilities.
It is not too late to undergo the process like the pencil. There is an interesting dialogue between a recent convert and an unbelieving friend: "So you have been converted to Christ?" "Yes." "Then you must know a great deal about him. Tell me: what country was he born in?" "I don't know." "What was his age when he died?" "I don't know." "How many sermons did he preach?" "I don't know." "You certainly know very little for a man who claims to be converted to Christ!" "You are right. I am ashamed at how little I know about him. But this much I know. Three years ago, I was a drunkard. I was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and children would dread my return. That's what Jesus did when I turned to him and asked for help."
This story shows us that a simple, receptive heart is necessary for truly knowing Christ. We are witnesses of Christ by understanding and processing through life like a pencil. Our personal transformation testifies to his saving presence in our life.
In the Service of the Lord,
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