Be a man, be a child of God

Published 9:49 am Friday, April 4, 2014

By the Rev. Jim Rushton

First Lutheran Church, Glenville

He was hard to miss. That big, burly man walking toward me in the aisle at Kmart.

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As he drew closer, I could see he was wearing on of those shirts with some kinds of message on it. His read “Be a man.”

Well that’s just terrific, I thought to myself.

The way he looks, I could imagine he was one of those guys who has a big pickup truck with a gun racking hanging in the back window. I could also imagine he was one of those guys who had a “man cave” with a big screen TV, all of the sports channels to go with it and one of those college dorm-sized refrigerators packed with his favorite cold beer.

Well, I had items to buy, so I put them in the cart and headed for the check out. Well, that’s just terrific! Who is in line just in front of me, but my big, burly friend.

This time he had his back toward me, so I now I would be treated to reading his shirt from the back. It read, “Be a child of God” and in smaller print “Join us every Sunday at St. Luke Lutheran, Campton.” Did I ever feel sheepish. And then I imagined again. Maybe he invites some friends hunting, and he gets around to talking about his life with God. Maybe he invites his buddies over to watch football, and before they dig into the junk food, he offers a prayer of thanks. Maybe that’s how you really become a man, by not being afraid to worship and pray and talking with your buddies about your relationship with Jesus.

Where can I get a shirt like he has?

That’s just terrific.

Yes, and here is Jesus, who long ago welcomed the less likely into his kingdom — tax collectors and sinners we are told. Jesus’s word of unconditional love and the work of the Holy Spirit transforms the most surprising of characters — even a person like Jacob who stole the birth-right and blessing from his elder brother, Esau. Why Jesus dares to transform even you and me, so that we may be his today and always.