What kind of church we have, Harmony, a country club
or a rescue station?
We always say, harmony is a must and we are here to
service the needs. Have you ever have this questions ponder in your heart?
"On a dangerous
seacoast where shipwrecks were frequent, a crude little rescue station was
built. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few
devoted crewmen kept a constant watch over the sea. With no thought for
themselves, they went out day or night, tirelessly searching for any who might
need help. Many lives were saved by their devoted efforts.
After a while the station
became famous. Some of those who were saved, as well as others in the
surrounding area, wanted to become a part of the work. They gave time and money
for its support. New boats were bought, additional crews were trained, and the
station grew.
Some of the members became
unhappy that the building was so crude. They felt a larger, nicer place would
be more appropriate as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. So they
replaced the emergency cots with hospital beds and put better furniture in the
enlarged building.
Soon the station became a
popular gathering place for its members to discuss the work and to visit with
each other. They continued to remodel and decorate until the station more and
more took on the look and character of a club. Fewer members were interested in
going out on rescue missions, so they hired professional crews to do the work
on their behalf. The rescue motif still prevailed on the club emblems and
stationery, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club held
its initiations.
One day a large ship was
wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in many boatloads of cold,
wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty, bruised, and sick; and some had
black or yellow skin. The beautiful new club was terribly messed up, and so the
property committee immediately had a shower house built outside, where the
shipwreck victims could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting
there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop
the club’s rescue activities altogether, as being unpleasant and a hindrance to
the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted on keeping rescue as
their primary purpose and pointed out that, after all, they were still called a
rescue station. But those members were voted down and told that if they wanted
to save lives they could begin their own station down the coast somewhere.
As the years went by, the
new station gradually faced the same problems the other one had experienced.
It, too, became a club, and its rescue work became less and less of a priority.
The few members who remained dedicated to lifesaving began another station.
History continued to repeat itself; and if you visit that coast today you will
find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent
in those waters, but most of the people drown."
MacArthur, John (2001). Pg. 111-112. The MacArthur
New Testament Commentary, Chicago ,
IL
No comments:
Post a Comment