How often do you go to church? Just on Sunday, the visiting day?

Story : Sunday The Visiting Day

He was looking forward to this moment all day long, after 6 days of labor and it finally arrived – Visiting Day!

The man with the keys arrived to swing open the large, heavy doors. The cold gray hall springs to life in the warm glow of light. He could hardly control His emotions.

The families began to arrive. He peers from the corner of the room longing for the 1st glimpse of His loved one. He lives for the weekends. He lives for these visits.

As the cars arrive, He watches intently. Then, finally, they arrive, for whom He would do anything. They embrace, eat a light lunch and reminisce how things used to be.

At one point, they break into singing, with interruptions of laughter and applause. But all too soon it is over. A tear comes to His eyes as they depart.

Then the man with the keys closes the heavy doors. He hears the key turn in the lock marking the end of a special day. There He stands, alone again.

He knows that most of His visitors will not contact Him again till next week. As the last car pulls away from the parking lot, Jesus retreats into loneliness as He waits until next Sunday – Visiting Day.

Reflection:

Is the time that we spend with Jesus an everyday thing, or do we just visit Him on Sunday?

One day, a man went to visit a church. He arrived early, parked his car, and got out. Another car pulled up near him, and the driver told him, “I always park there. You took my place!”

The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat, and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, ”That’s my seat! You took my place!” The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the church sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, “That’s where I always sit. You took my place!” The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still said nothing.

Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, “What happened to you?”

The visitor replied, “I took your place.”

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Jesus died for us. He took our place and died for our sins on the calvary.

Live this new life that He gave us, expressing our gratitude to Jesus for taking our place.

Several years ago a young priest moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride a bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, ‘you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it’.

Then he thought, ‘Oh forget it, it’s only twenty pence.’ Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from the Almighty, and keep quiet’.

When his stop came, the priest paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said: “Here, you gave me too much change.”

The driver with a smile replied: “Aren’t you the new parish priest in this area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at your Church. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.”

When the young priest stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and held for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried:

“Oh my Jesus, I almost sold your Christianity for twenty pence!”

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We may never see what impact our actions have on people… Sometimes we are the only “Bible” someone will ever read, or the only Christianity someone will see. What we need to provide is an example for others to see. Be careful of how you behave, and be honest always: you never know who is watching your actions.