Suppose you learned that actress...
Illustration
Suppose you learned that actress Julia Roberts was coming to your worship service next
Sunday. If she were to sit in the pew next to you, do you think you would be eager to
share your hymnal with her? Would you be interested in chatting with her during the
coffee hour? Do you think you would be a bit awed and thrilled by her very presence?
What kind of response do you think Julia Roberts would get if she came to your
church?
Wipe that image out of your head (if you can!) and suppose the visitor sitting right next to you in your pew, really close, is not a famous, attractive actress but a "bag lady" from Brooklyn -- a dirty, smelly, toothless, homeless woman carrying all her belongings in a greasy grocery bag. Would you be so eager to share your hymnal with her? Would you be as willing to spend time with her in the coffee hour? What kind of response might she get from your congregation? The author of the book of James pulls no punches when he says, straightforwardly, "... if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law...." That's easy to say, but harder to do!
Wipe that image out of your head (if you can!) and suppose the visitor sitting right next to you in your pew, really close, is not a famous, attractive actress but a "bag lady" from Brooklyn -- a dirty, smelly, toothless, homeless woman carrying all her belongings in a greasy grocery bag. Would you be so eager to share your hymnal with her? Would you be as willing to spend time with her in the coffee hour? What kind of response might she get from your congregation? The author of the book of James pulls no punches when he says, straightforwardly, "... if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law...." That's easy to say, but harder to do!
