We have all heard this familiar warning about the danger of making a snap decision based on what we see on the outside. There are many people who will never know the bliss of eating sushi because they cannot get over the initial shock of seeing raw ingredients such as fish, seaweed, and all of the other things that make it so good. Many times we miss out on a wonderful experience only because we have judged the contents of something solely on what we see on the outside.
AtkinsIn August, I was introduced to a family many would have dismissed as what the church has seen for years as “unreachable.” The father had long hair, a full beard that would make the men on Duck Dynasty proud, multiple earrings in each ear, and tattoos up and down both arms. My sweet wife struck up a conversation with him and invited him to our free community block party. The next day, he came, along with his wife and their precious granddaughter. While they were there, another member of our church sat down at his table and began to talk with him and invited his family to come back the following day for our homecoming service. “They won’t let me come in that church. Look at how I look, man,” was his response. Thankfully, the man who was talking with him did not say, “Well, go home, cut your hair, shave your beard, put on a long-sleeved shirt, take out those earrings, and then come to church with a suit and tie on.” Instead, he told him that he was more than welcome to come to PFBC and that he would be looking for him.
The next day, they all showed up and sat on the second row. During the invitation, they all came forward for prayer. At the end of the service, I had the honor of leading my new friend Clyde to the Lord. In the coming weeks, God began to do an amazing work in this family, and I was honored to baptize him, his wife Vickie and their granddaughter Autumn. This past March, their son started coming to church and he, too, prayed to receive Christ. On Easter Sunday, I baptized Darrell, and a month later his fianc?e Maranda prayed to receive Christ at our free community supper and was baptized this past Mother’s Day.
When the doors are opened on Sunday mornings, this family is one of the first ones in the door. They are all in Sunday school, Autumn comes to AWANA, Darrell and Maranda are starting pre-marital counseling with me, they attend our young couples’ small group on Sunday nights, and Darrell even served as an usher this past Sunday. Clyde, Darrell, and Maranda all have tattoos and they are not perfect, but neither are any of us.
Friends, don’t miss an amazing blessing because you choose to judge a book by its cover. Instead, take time to sit down, open up the pages of someone’s life and then watch God do an amazing thing as you strive for Great Commission Living in 2012. Who knows, you might even decide to invite them out to eat sushi with you some time.
– Atkins is pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.