“Us” and “Them”
1975 had morphed into 1976 and school was back in session.
I wondered if “they “would show up for the first day back.
“They” were the classmates who were Jehovah’s Witnesses.
According to them, 1975 was supposed to be the end of the world, but when we left school for Christmas break it hadn’t happened yet…and now their apocalyptic deadline had passed.
They had argued with me almost daily with vigor about the end of all things…and the end of me, personally.
They now had to face the consequences of the failure of their doctrine and my continued existence….and I was going to make sure they knew how wrong they had been.
The “JW” families lived on the outskirts of the community, literally and figuratively.
They didn’t celebrate birthdays or holidays, they didn’t salute the flag… but they did faithfully do the (annoying) works that their beliefs demanded.
They were always among us, rarely with us.
They were allowed to be both as they saw fit.
We weren’t converting and neither were they…but they were part of our town and part of “us”.
Whatever “they” believed, “they” were our “neighbors”.
As I got ready for school that day, I was also loading for bear.
The Lord had stayed in heaven just as I had said He would…and “they” had insisted He wouldn’t.
I was preparing for a rollicking, sarcastic, good time at the expense of my classmates for the amusement and pleasure of my fellow heathens.
The school bus ride was filled with gleeful anticipation from my friends of what was soon to befall the Jehovahs Witnesses among us…if they showed up.
She was waiting when I got off the bus…she saw my cockeyed grin before I saw her tears.
She only said two words;
“Please don’t”.
I said “I won’t”.
She broke her law and hugged a pagan.
The pagan hugged her back.
The subject never came up again.
If she ever came to a knowledge of the truth…the hug carried more weight than my arguments.
If…she ever did…mercy made the difference.
It always does.
Make your own application…
That was a nice story, thanks for sharing it.
Dude your a bigger man than I!
God Bless You.
David,
There have been more times when I have been utterly graceless.
Hopefully, there will be fewer as I get closer to home.
Michael,
I know it has been hard for you. It can become humiliating at times. But hang in there. God has never forgotten you or allowed you to withstand that which would break you beyond your point of no return.
We have no where else to turn but Him in whom we put our trust. Even though on the surface of things it may appear as if we have been forgotten, somehow we know that we know everything is going to be alright.
It just is the gap between our needs and the needs fulfilled that is so hard.
I lift you and your son up to the Lord. I remember you two in my prayers and in my thoughts. It deeply troubles me to know that you are in need.
May our loving Father be merciful and kind. May the doors of favor and opportunity open wide for you. May a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit encourage you and comfort you to the point that you once again overflow in His love towards everyone around you as you have been doing, but more so.
May satisfaction of soul be your portion as the good hand of our God provides for you and yours.
David,
Thank you, my friend…God is using you and people like you to get us through intact.
I appreciate it more than I can say.
That got me, Michael. Thanks.
We recently had a “JW” give their life to Jesus through the evangelism we lovingly work at and join our lil fellowship.
I told the young lady reaching out to the girl “buy her gifts and be generous for no reason.”
I answered a few theological questions, while bringing a lot of humor to conversation….but the “generosity” and showing this young lady that believers have true life and a “good time” was (in the words of Val Kilmer playing Doc Holiday) “too much for her to bear”…we’re glad to have her.
If I’m honest there were probably times I was more interested in winning debates with those who came to our door through the years. I thought I was doing a bold thing by not being afraid to take them on.
I’ve learned that more important than the knowledge you might have is to have a true desire to see these people set free from the lies that but for God’s grace I might have been sucked into. Genuinely caring for the person you’re talking to can go a long way although you may never see the fruit in this life.
You know michael, in real life I am almost always like that. When I got the left foot of fellowship out of a ministry I loved. I had the “goods” on the leader and could have really made his life awful. But it would have hurt the ministry I loved. I have a lot of gotcha moments. To be honest that side of me often totally disgusts me. I know its the right way to be but it disgusts me because I am not man enough to win.
Awesome story. Relationship wins over one-upsmanship good stuff.
The Gospel.
Exampled by you, through you, in spite of you.
The Gospel.
“There have been more times when I have been utterly graceless.
Hopefully, there will be fewer as I get closer to home.”
Amen. God help us.
Good story Michael.
I hope that the JW’s and Mormons that I have run into over the years would see that behind the discussions, they know that we care for them more than the debates over divergent beliefs. While I don’t want to sacrifice truth for love, I also don’t the truth to be shared without the love being there.
That J W distress most most likely equaled those who sat under the the Rapture now teachers.
IS THIS THE 1975 ROSH HASHANAH RAPTURE SCARE?
THE ONE THE JW’S ACTUALLY STARTED BUT NOBODY WOULD ADMIT TO IT?
I got my head messed up by that one. (The Gospel According to Hal Lindsay, Christians for Nuclear War, you name it.) I remember all the Christianese AM radio airplay; they had everything on The Checklist “prophesied” down to the minute, Proven from SCRIPTURE(TM). And the “THIS IS IT!” services on Christianese radio and late-night TV counting down to that minute.
And then the sun rose the next day.