SELMA — An elderly man in Alabama spent a decade copying out the Bible by hand, then concluded that it was a colossal waste of time.
The effort was meant to be a meaningful act of devotion, but halfway through the book of Revelation, Sam Burbel decided that despite all his effort, nothing would be gained in the end. He finished the project so he could at least have a sense of finality.
"I don't know what I was thinking," Sam said. "I rue the day I got the idea to do this."
The idea first occurred to him ten years ago while he sat in church. He'd just retired from his job in a Honda Motors factory and was looking for a way to "have significance" in his twilight years. He dutifully copied the King James Bible by hand for four hours a day, battling repetitive motion stress and bouts of fatigue.
"He kept at it even on holidays," says son Curt. "We tried to talk sense into him, but this was his thing."
The local newspaper ran a story on Sam, and he was pictured in the Reader's Digest Spanish edition. But copying out the Bible by hand, it turns out, wasn't the path to meaning he'd hoped.
"I'd encourage young people not to make the same mistake I did by wasting ten good years on a foolish endeavor," Sam said. "Go learn a skill or something. I hope God forgives me for wasting so much time."
I can't believe it's been two months since my last post. I don't have a good
excuse but here are some options.
1. My dog ate all of my blog drafts which ha...
4 comments:
I spent 20+ years in church.I hopw God forgives me!
Woundedknee, I understand comments like these. I relate and have found myself frustrated at how far we have moved away from God's understanding and mission of the church. I get it!
However, I read these comments and grieve. It hurts inside, because I know how much God loves His children, His followers, His church. Church is not a building. It is people like you and me.
I often read on these blogs how much God loves us and how it is all about grace, in which I agree. But then I hear how bad the church is. How can God love us so much and the church be so bad, since we are the church?
We are so prone to screw things up. Churches can lose focus, purpose, mission, etc. Why? Because we are the church. The answer is not to diss the church, but to become the kind of church Jesus wants us to be.
Even though I get why people make comments like these, as it reminds me of my own story and frustration. However, from the Biblical perspective, God loves His church and has a lot to say about it. He has also chosen His church to carry out His mission and purposes. He invites us to be on mission with Him, to show others the goodness of God, for He called us out of the darkness into His wonderful light. I can keep going on and on and on with passage after passage, but I think my point is clear.
We can diss the church all we want. But we find ourselves dissing the very people that God loves so much and the very people God has called to carry out His ministry of reconciliation. Let's stop talking bad about the church and start being the church.
I would encourage you, Woundedknee, and all of us for that matter, not to ask God to forgive you for being "in" the church, but ask God to forgive you for dissing it and not living in obedience and faithfulness to Him as His children, His body, His church. If the church has disappointed or hurt you, or if it has not met your expectations, then I would encourage you to repent and change your attitude, thinking, choices, and lifestyle. That will make all the difference in the world. It starts with me and you. Let's make a difference!
Hey Scott thats' what I mean.
Hey gang, here’s the inside scoop: It’s his Church and he’s going to present it glorious and without “spot or wrinkle.” This generation has a built-in anti-institution bias. It’s a hangover from the 60s. It may take a few generations to purge this predisposition. The 20th and 21st centuries may not be the finest centuries in which heaven will have gleaned its best citizens.
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