FROM THE PULPIT: CHILDREN'S LETTERS CAN REVEAL MUCH ABOUT US

I enjoy reading letters that children write to their pastor, or to God. (For a pleasant break, read the book, Children's' Letters to God, The New Collection, compiled by Stuart Hample and Eric Marshall). Very often these letters are embarassing as well as humorous, as they often reveal our habits and values which are less than flattering. Consider this:"Dear God, Is it true my dad won't get to heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house?"

Children are quick to perceive inconsistencies in our lives, particularly between what we say and do. Two such letters are as follows:

"Dear Pastor, I think a lot more people would come to church. if you moved it to Disneyland."

"Dear Pastor, My mother is very religious. She goes to play bingo at church every week, even if she has a cold."

One thing that leaps from these two letters is the realization that many people go to church for many different reasons, and not always the right reasons! Yet we like to think of ourselves as religious and faithful to God,so long as we show up occasionally, or even regularly. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day were among the most faithful attenders of religious services ever, yet Jesus could say,"unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 5:20) What was the problem? Motives.

Love and humility are like two wings of a bird. Without them the bird cannot fly, and you find them in pairs. In the same way, we are not lifted above the trivialities or the pain of life, nor above sin, greed, or pride, without love and humility. Wherever you find love, you will also find humility. They go together. "Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not se-lf-seeking.." (I Corinthians 13:45) See how often humility figures in the Bible's definition of love in I Corinthians 13.

Love and humility are the essence of the First Commandment, and the Great commandment. "You shall have no other gods."(Exodus 20:3) "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (mark 12:30) Humility recognizes there is One who is above us all who is worthy of our worship, trust and praise, and love adores and obeys that One.

Of course, many refuse to attend church because of those people who are there for the wrong reasons. This is to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Implicit in the childrens' letters is the knowledge that being "religious" and "going to church". are good. We are all religious about something. (Have you noticed the Rams' following lately?) Why not be religious about the only one who can save mankind, Jesus Christ? (Acts 4:12) Jesus is the object of true faith, not anyone or anything else. He will never fail.

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."(James 4:8) Let us go to church to draw near to God. Let us read our Bibles and pray for the same reason. "You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with your whole heart."(Jeremiah 29:13) In love and humility, let us worship our Creator, our Savior, our Master, our Friend.