Every now and then...

I posted this yesterday on Facebook: "If I were to write about the burdens of the preacher as I have experienced them and as I know them," declared Martin Luther, "I would scare everybody off."

And it's true. If I hear one more person talk about how preachers need to get a "real job" I may scream. After being with people dying and trying to offer comfort, counseling with people at the end of their rope and on the edge of losing it all, making decisions on how to best reach people in a way to change their eternal destiny, and yes, confronting people with the real consequences of their actions - if that's not real...

But you need to hear about the flip side too, about those moments of surpassing joy that make it all worthwhile.

- Like seeing Gracie on percussion last Sunday morning. Gracie's a wee lassie and is always full of life. She wanted to help the praise team on Wednesday night, so Pam gave her the "egg" which is a small percussion instrument. Well Sunday Gracie was giving it everything she had - on beat most of the time. :)

- Or when I was cooking supper last week and Caleb asked if he could help cook. I said "sure" and he got busy. Soon Devon wanted to know what he could do, and before it was over 5 of the boys from the neighborhood were helping the pastor cook supper.

- Or looking out over the congregation and seeing Robert and his kids there. He's had a tough road back but he's done it with honor and his kids (and his parents) are absolutely loving having their son in worship and serving the church that prayed him through hard times and is rejoicing with him now.

- Or sitting in quiet office and marveling at the enormity of God's grace. That Jesus would drop down into the sewer of humanity and not just throw us a rope, not just jump in and rescue us, but that we'd be able to read this...

Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are! 1 John 3:1 (HCSB)

That "prince of preachers" Charles Spurgeon read that and wrote:

"Behold!" ye angels! stop, ye seraphs! here is a thing more wonderful than heaven with its walls of jasper. Behold, universe! open thine eyes, O world. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God."

If we only realized that what we have and what we have been called to do was the stuff angels only dream of...

Every now and then we need to be reminded that we are what God says we are.