He Never Came Dressed
That Way Again



I saw him in the church building for the first time last
Wednesday. He was in his mid 70's with silver hair and a neat
brown suit. Many times in the past I had invited him to come.
Several friends had talked to him about the Lord and had tried
to share the Good News with him.

He was a well-respected, honest man with so many
characteristics a Christian should have, but he had never
put on Christ.

I had asked him a few years ago, "Have you ever been to a
church service in your life?" We had just finished a
pleasant day of visiting and talking. He hesitated,
then with a bitter smile he told me of a childhood
experience some sixty years ago.

He was one of many children in a large impoverished family.
His parents had struggled to provide food, with
little left for housing and clothing. When he was
about ten, some neighbors invited him to worship
with them.

The Bible class had been very exciting. He had never
heard such songs and stories before. He had never
heard anyone read from the Bible before.

After class was over, the teacher took him aside
and said, "Son, please don't come again dressed as
you are now. We want to look our best when we come
worship the Lord." He stood in his ragged,
unpatched overalls, looked at his bare, dirty feet
and said, "No ma'am, I won't ever!"
And he never did.

There must have been other factors to have hardened
him so, but this experience formed a significant
part of the bitterness in his heart. I'm sure the
Bible teacher meant well, but what if she had
studied and accepted the teachings found in the
second chapter of James? What if she had put her arms
around that dirty, ragged little boy and said,
"Son, I'm so glad you are here, and I hope you will
come every chance you get to hear more about Jesus!"

I pray that I might ever be open to the tenderness
of a child's heart, and that I might never fail to
see beyond the appearance and behavior of a child
to the eternal possibilities within.

Yes, I saw him in the church house for the first
time last Wednesday. As I looked at that immaculately
dressed old gentleman lying in his casket,
I thought of the little boy of long ago.
I could almost hear him saying,

"No ma'am, I won't ever!" .... and I wept.

Author Unknown

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