I was filling my gas tank when Mr. Willie More Dison stepped
out of the store and began staring at me.
I was the new pastor of Old Saline Baptist Church. I was 29 and was getting to know my way
around the small rural community of Saline, Louisiana. I grew up in a medium sized county seat city
in Mississippi. Cathy grew up in a large
capital city in SC. We were a young
couple with our first baby and now adjusting to the pleasant life in rural
Louisiana. We lived 50 miles from our
hospital and pediatrician. There were a
few small stores in the town but no stop light.
You could get gas and a few items but any major shopping required a 50 mile round-trip drive. While we
did not grow up in such a small community we were learning to love it and still
look back with fondness as some of our happiest times. However, I need to get back to Willie More trying to figure out who I was.
As the new pastor of Old Saline Baptist Church I learned
that a creek divided the Old Saline and Pine Grove church communities. People who lived on one side of the creek
normally attended Pine Grove while people who lived on the other side of the
creek usually attended Old Saline. Mr.
Willie More Dison had lived his whole life in the community and was now one of the
senior statesmen. Mr. Willie More was a
member of the neighboring Pine Grove Baptist Church and he had not yet had the
occasion to meet the new pastor of Old Saline church. He identified the younger folks by their
parents. He looked at me for a while and
couldn’t place me in a family and finally asked, “Whose boy are you?” I
smiled and answered, “I am Jack and Dot
Drees’s boy but that won’t answer what you really want to know.” I then
told him that I was the new pastor at Old Saline. He was satisfied and would now know me when
we bumped into each other again.
I have often thought about that encounter and the way we are
regularly identified with our parents and ancestors, whether we like it or
not. I was very fortunate to be born
into a good family. I always enjoyed returning
to my home town and hearing; “Aren’t you
Jack and Dot’s son?” usually followed by some pleasant and respectful
memory of my parents. I was indeed lucky
to have them as my parents and am still always proud to be identified with their name
and memory. I avoided some of the
typical stupid adolescent and teen behavior because I never wanted to disgrace the good
family name they worked so hard to build. Whether
we are aware of it or not, people are watching us, even when we do not realize it…and
often they know who we are. So, our
behavior is always important. It not
only is a reflection on us but also it is a reflection on those whom we may represent.
People often identify us with our family or ancestors. When overseas, I was identified with
my American heritage. That can be good
or bad depending on the legacy of our nationality or culture. However, if one behaves as a true child of
God one never has a problem being accepted or embraced wherever one may be or
with whomever one may encounter. The
same cannot be said of all religious affiliations. All of the world’s religious organizations
and institutions have some stain or blemish on their history. All have offended or abused others at some
point in history. However there is a real
difference in being a member of a religious organization and being a true child
of God.
The 12th and 13th verses of the first
chapter of John’s gospel tell us that those who believe in and receive Jesus
become children of God. All humans obviously
are ‘born of man’, having a physical
birth, but those ‘born of God’,
having a Spiritual birth are different.
They/we know and see a different world with a different purpose for
existence. Those who have been ‘born
of the Spirit’ have a Spiritual nature, insight and understanding that
no religion on earth can teach, give, manufacture or really comprehend. By the way I am intentionally using a capital
S as I am referring to the Holy Spirit rather than a good or benevolent human
spirit. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
True children of God receive and reflect the love of God as a natural
outpouring of who we are to all we encounter.
Religious people usually try to compel people join their way of religious
life or reject them as outsiders. Often
religion can lead to kind and benevolent actions but even those activities can be
done in a self-serving or condescending manner. God and
his children love and seek to treat everyone with the same devotion.
I write this as an encouragement for everyone to make
certain of their Spiritual heritage. One
may claim membership or affiliation with a specific church, religious
organization or tradition but one’s continued and eternal behavior is the true
indicator of one’s Spiritual heritage. Over
many years I have discovered that there is a common element found in
all who cause conflict and turmoil in churches, religious organizations and
society. They are like Nicodemus (John
3) and Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9). They may
be well versed in religion; however they have not yet had a life-changing
encounter with Jesus. There is a huge
difference in being a member of a church or religion and being ‘born
of the Spirit’. A true child of
God has a Spiritual nature that reflects the true image of God to everyone they
encounter everywhere they may go and no matter what situation they may
encounter.
We just completed the season of the year when we often the
hear the Christmas song; ‘What Child is
This?’ It is a beautiful song but the more important question may be,
“Whose child are you?”
