Serving like a Russian Rabbi

There was a certain rabbi that lived in a small village in the heart of western Russia.  It was a small town with a nearly entirely Jewish population.  This rabbi was known for being a wise, kind, and sincere man.  But he was also known for something else.  On Friday mornings he would disappear for hours.

The rabbi's disciples would tell everyone that the rabbi spent the early hours of Friday morning communing with God in heaven.  In fact, the story of the rabbi's fantastical Friday morning forays had spread to the surrounding towns and villages.  A man who lived in one of those neighboring towns was skeptical of the rabbi, and wanted to see for himself.

The man came to the town late Thursday night and determined to follow the rabbi to see what was really going on.  In Friday's predawn hours, the rabbi woke up early and clothed himself in a peasant's garb.  He then went deep into the woods and spent the next hour cutting down a tree and splitting it into firewood.

The rabbi then picked up as much firewood as he could carry and he brought it deeper into the forest until he arrived at a small cottage at the far edge of the woods.  The house was inhabited by a widow and her three young children.  The rabbi brought enough firewood for a week's worth of fires before going back to the village.  The man was stunned and determined to become a disciple of the rabbi.  And now, when the other disciples talk about the rabbi's weekly trip to heaven, the man agrees with joy.

Service is a remarkable and influential endeavor.  It affects people in miraculous and dramatic ways.  Conversely, the lack of the evidence of service can be devastating and disenfranchising.  How do you think the bucolic detective above would have responded if instead of discovering that the rabbi spent his "secret" Friday mornings serving a neighbor in need, but simply stayed in bed because he had a weekly ritual of getting drunk on Thursday nights?  He would have been appalled at the incongruity between what was professed and what actually occurred.

We, as Christians, should strive to be better servers who seek out opportunities to serve and seize them with eagerness and joy.  Service that comes from a sincere heart is the of a life that is focused on the Lord.  Let us then live out our faith in service!

Does What We Advertise Match What We Sell?

For over a year, the business trip had been on Denise's calendar.  Yet, two days before she was set to take off, she realized that her dress clothes were in serious need of dry cleaning.  Denise knew of a same-day dry cleaning place on the other side town, os she packed up her clothes and headed over.  Outside of the cleaners was a huge, neon sign, "One-Hour Dry Cleaning."

After filling out the tag and handing the clerk her dress frocks and asked for confirmation, "So, I'll be back in an hour for these."  The tiny lady behind the counter looked up through her thick, wire-rimmed glasses, "No, I can't get to these until next Thursday."

Denise replied, "But I thought you guys did one-hour dry cleaning?"  The clerk looked at Denise with a sly grin that spoke of her frustration at yet another customer missing the point, "No.  That's just the name of the store.  We don't actually do that!"

To many, Christianity is the just a title that many people claim but few actually live.  However, when someone looks into our hearts to see the goods, will they see real Christianity, or will they realize that our Christianity is just a nice mask to get us in with the right crowds.

But Christianity is much more than listening to Christian music, reading the latest Christian authors, voting the right way, or even speaking the right lingo.  Instead, being a Christian is about obeying the Commandments of Christ, keeping them with discipline and loving God and our neighbors.  Thus, if we commit to this, then when people look into our hearts, the identities and testimonies we put out for the public will be confirmed as true.