March 2022

Words From Pastor Chris

All is Not as It Seems 

The pastor knew a hog farmer in the small rural town where they both lived. One day, he invited him to come to church. “No, pastor, I will not come. The people there are hypocrites.” A few weeks later, the pastor saw the hog farmer in town and invited him a second time. “Why don’t you come to church this Sunday?” “No, pastor, I will not come,” he replied, “the members of your church are hypocrites.” A little while later, the pastor approached the farmer a third time. Before he could speak, the man blurted out, “You’re wasting your time, pastor, I’ve already told you I will not come. I refuse to associate with hypocrites!” The pastor responded calmly. “No, friend, that is not why I have come to you today. I want to go out to your farm to see your stock. I am interested in buying a pig from you.” The man’s face brightened. “You want to buy a pig from me? By all means! Meet me at the farm this afternoon.” The pastor arrived, and the hog farmer led him out to the pens where he kept his prize hogs. They appeared sleek and healthy and well fed. But the pastor was not interested in any of them. Instead, he pointed out to the farmer a runt, and said, “That is the pig I want to buy. Go and have him prepared for me.” The farmer was perplexed. “Oh no, pastor, you don’t want that one. He is the weakest and the sickliest among all that you see before you.” The pastor replied, “Yes, I am going to buy him, and then I am going to let others know that he is the kind of pig that people can expect from your farm.”

This story illustrates how those outside the church often base their judgment of the church on its weakest members. Surely, not everyone in the pastor’s church was a hypocrite, and yet that is how the hog farmer chose to characterize his church. By singling out the runt on the farm, the pastor wanted to help the hog farmer see how unfair this characterization was. 

We cannot control how people outside the church view us. We can, however, seek to live lives worthy of our calling as followers of Christ, “in all humility and patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). Our aim should be to live such good lives among those who don’t believe that, when they speak against us, they may be ashamed of their slander (1 Pet. 3:16). God’s intention for us as his children is that we may be without fault in a “crooked and perverse generation, shining like stars in the sky as we hold forth the word of life” (Phil. 2:15,16).  

As we approach this upcoming Lenten season, a very spiritually rich time in the Christian year, let us refocus our minds on the promises of the gospel, cleansing them of all that defiles, “perfecting holiness out of fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). 

Lenten blessings to you all, 

Pastor Chris