Relief

July 7, 2018

Normally, I am quite cautious in my approach to life. It’s the way I was raised; my father was conservatively cautious, quite adverse to risk. That’s not a bad characteristic—caution does tend to keep one out of trouble, but somewhere along the line, I decided I didn’t want to live that way anymore. To some extent, I didn’t have much of a choice. It’s hard to be cautious if one takes the Bible seriously. Moses confronting Pharaoh, David vs. Goliath, Esther risking her life by standing up for people, Jesus before Pilate—these are not the actions of cautious people. 

The icing on the cake for me was that day I read Jesus’ parable of the Talents; three men entrusted with different sums of money while the master was away. The first two invested the money, risking loss, while the third cautiously hid his in the ground. Upon the master’s return, the first two were commended, while the third was roundly condemned, notwithstanding his excuses. He played it safe, and lost everything. I had read that story countless times, but on that particular day, I understood, and decided I would do my best to be a risk-taker for God.

It didn’t always turn out as I had planned. Overall, the risk was justified as the church grew, but there were plenty of bumps along the way. Still, I would do it all again, except I would stretch even more. I’ve come to realize that faith is really spelled R-I-S-K.

Occasionally, I take that risk without meaning to. Like the evening I opened my big mouth and suggested to the Dunkirk Administrative Council that it would be a good idea to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the dedication of our building by having a big birthday party in the park to which we invited the neighborhood. Free hot dogs, games, music—it all sounded pretty good in the abstract and two months out. The closer the date comes however, the more nervous I become. Which is why I was so relieved yesterday when we finally got help from the Post Office for our direct mail promotion, and grateful today when two different people agreed to help out; one with the music, the other with games for the kids.

I had been getting concerned that after advertising music and games, that we wouldn’t have the people to make it happen, but one of our worship leaders signed on today, completing the roster of necessary people to sing and play. And a phone call today confirmed that my granddaughter and a friend are going to help with the games. People have come out of the woodwork to help out. Conduit church in Jamestown is providing a bounce house, son-cones, popcorn, and perhaps cotton candy. Pillar of Fire in Dunkirk will staff a prayer tent, Park church in Sinclairville is providing the grill for hot dogs a worship team for music, a big birthday cake, and boots on the ground, and the faithful Dunkirk people have been working hard contacting businesses, gathering door prizes, and organizing the whole thing.

As I watch the loose ends coming together, I am grateful to all those who are giving of themselves, most of them people who stand to gain nothing in return. And I am thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ for nudging all those who have said yes. And for those who honestly told me when it wasn’t possible for them to come. Everything we are doing is for the purpose of reaching out to people in our neighborhood who need to know how much God loves them. They are going to get a taste of that love next week. God is good ... all the time!