Monday, September 29, 2008

Harvest

"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." - Galatians 6:9-10

"Sit down and let me tell you a story…" my Mom and Grandma were eager to share memories; memories sometimes difficult for me to envision, since I never lived them. They feature a spunky schoolmarm (my grandma) and a little girl (my mom) as main characters in a world of outdoor movie theaters, flare-leg men's pants, and an America I hardly recognize.

It was appropriate that they pulled me into their conversation at that moment, just as I had wandered away from my computer screen. You wonder why I bring up my computer? Well, the screen held a certain news article.

The headline will probably be the subject of local conversation for some time to come. In my one-stoplight town, the one thing that travels fast is news of a scandal; and there's nothing more mortifying than seeing a former pastor's name printed on the front page alongside the word 'Pornography.' Although I don't attend his church, I'd met him a few times myself.

It was in the middle of this disturbing revelation that my grandma sat me down to share a story. She spoke of a family she had known years before, who had perviously owned the second biggest ranch in Texas. The kids—a couple of boys—were educated by a private tutor and drove the nicest cars available in the 1920's. At least until '29, when they lost it all in the Greatly Depressing section of American History.

What are two ex-millionaire brothers to do when all their cash goes down the tubes? Start afresh, clinging to what was for sure. They knew Christ and a little about cars. Hence, the birth of a filling station, where every customer was not only given excellent service but the Gospel to boot.

Time passed and each son found a wife. Before long, there were nearly a dozen children and hungry stomachs to fill. But the Gospel always came first. Thriving on little, the family became prominent in their small West Texas town--not for having money, but for the contagiousness of their love.

Somewhere in this equation entered my grandparents. They had slowly become sick of the Biblelessness of their old denomination, but were afraid of worshiping elsewhere. At that time, they somehow bumped into the family who ran the local filling station. The family’s vibrant, Gospel-with-abandon approach deeply impacted my grandparents. For the first time, my grandparents saw Christians living with the Bible at the center of their existence.

My grandma then paused her story. She tipped her head back on the couch, as if trying to find sufficient words. "They really changed our lives."

And I suppose they changed mine, too. If I ever met a member of that family who changed my grandparents' lives it was before I was old enough to remember them; but my grandmother is now a Lover of God, and my mom takes after her. Their legacy will never stop influencing me.

I left the conversation with much to think about. There are Christians and Christian wannabes whose names get pasted on newspaper headlines for doing despicable things. Take, for instance, that article on my computer screen. But it isn’t just pastors who leave legacies. It isn’t just the horrible actions that leave fingerprints on the world (though they might be the only ones to make the paper). Three generations were changed because of one family’s faithfulness.

In Galatians it says "...And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." I can't wait to tell that family about their harvest.

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