Now, those of you
who know me have probably noticed that I am a pretty big guy. I am not NBA tall, but I tend to be kind of
obvious in a crowd. Well the other day I
saw a real giant. Not a physical giant,
but a spiritual giant is.
I am a kind of
interim pastor filling in for our lead pastor, Rev. Earl Wheatley, as he
battles pancreatic cancer. A couple of
weeks ago I preached a message in preparation for National Back to Church
Sunday. I talked about some of the ways
that the church turns people off.
Particularly, I talked about how we tend to put people in categories and
we are often seen as judgmental. I
closed by challenging the people to strive to be known for loving their
neighbors, co-workers, and others who don’t know Christ.
At the close of the
service I invited people to come forward to pray at the altar rail for people
they know that need a relationship with Christ; for ways they might show
Christ’s love for them; and for openings to invite them to join us in worship. The Spirit was moving among us and many
people came to pray for their own attitudes, and/or people they might be able
to reach out to.
The first person at
the altar rail was the pastor I am subbing for.
He felt well enough to be in worship that day and sat on the front row
with his wife. The following Tuesday he
was scheduled to undergo some tests that would tell what progress the cancer
was making and if the very uncomfortable chemotherapy treatments were
helping. Right away, I figured Pastor
Earl wanted us to pray for him and about the test results he would get that
week. I moved over to join him, but
before I got there I could hear him praying.
To my surprise, he wasn’t praying about the tests, or his pain, or his
cancer. He was praying for people in his
neighborhood that need to know Jesus, and asking God for guidance in how he
could best approach them. Of course, I
agreed with him in prayer.
After his wife
helped him back to his seat. I just sat
down on the steps to the platform. I
have to admit I was stunned. Here was a
man in a fight for his life and his
prayer was for his unsaved neighbors. I
was in awe.
When everyone had
finished praying and returned to their seats, I said to the congregation while still
sitting on the steps, “I want to be Earl Wheatley when I grow up.” Then I told them of Earl’s prayer. We have a giant among us. His body is emaciated, but his spirit is
huge. I am proud to know him, call him
friend, and know him as a brother in Christ.
He challenges me to put the first thing first. Call it what you want: making disciples,
filling up heaven, or seeing people saved.
It is all about sharing the love of Christ. It is this love that gives a man like Earl
the sweet assurance of his own salvation and the deep desire for others to
experience it too. I want to be like
that. How about you?
