I am wrapping up preparations for an upcoming speaking
engagement.
I am always glad to speak on the history of my church
whenever I am asked to do so.
In preparation, I am always struck by those who preceded me.
The amount of love they shared and the sacrifices they made
were remarkable.
I am certain the same can be said by many other churches as
well.
There are certain truths that emerge as one delves deep into
church history.
The farther back you go, the more difficult life was for people
and the pastors whom God entrusted to their care.
In many cases, the lives of believers hung under the shadow
of persecution.
The mere act of worship, or worshipping in a different way,
was sometimes done at tremendous risk.
In fact, wars took place because of differences in worship.
A pastor friend once told me, “There is nothing sadder than a
religious war.”
I agree.
Beyond conflict, life itself was difficult.
Travel between communities that now takes hours once took
days.
Communications that are now instantaneous was once practically
nonexistent.
Life spans were shorter and there was no guarantee of
survival from one season to the next.
Despite the difficulties, the church once played a pivotal
role in the life of the community.
In the modern age, things are quite different.
Granted, there are still parts of the world where persecution
of Christians is a reality.
But for the most part, we have been blessed with security,
peace, safety, convenience and many other things.
Along with these blessings, complacency has settled it.
Broadly speaking, the church no longer plays the central role
in the community it once did,
Perhaps that is why I enjoy speaking about the history of my
church.
It forces me to remember people whose lives were far more
difficult than mine.
By modern standards, they had very few conveniences.
Yet they gave freely of themselves.
This was especially true of those who answered God’s call and
tended his flock on earth.
Whenever I think about such things, I recall the second part
of Luke 12:48.
Luke 12:48b (NET) - From everyone who has been given
much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much,
even more will be asked.
When we compare our lives with the lives of those who
preceded us, we realize we have been blessed with much.
We must then ask ourselves honestly what we choose to do
with those blessings.
Are we really doing what God requires of us?
I wonder what those who speak of church history in the
future will say of us today.
Wouldn’t it be sad if they find little to say?
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
I’ll be back here on Friday, October
11, 2019
