We love a good story. Our lives are a story. Everything that moves us is based on a story. We follow our life’s road by our motivation of the stories we have heard and accepted as ours. Every trial comes down to who has the best story.

Political affiliations come from the stories that political parties and politicians tell. I heard the story of Christ and it warmed my heart. I felt and knew that there was truth in the love of Jesus. Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday or the birthday of the church. Church is a wonderful and peaceful place. Church is where we learn and absorb the story of, ‘beating our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks.’ The church is where we first hear the concept of the lion laying down with the lamb and nothing will hurt or destroy in my holy mountain sayeth the Lord.’

We desire faith. We want to believe in something bigger than we are.

Today’s world is full of extenuating circumstances. Acceptance and love is the answer. Acceptance of ourselves is what we seek. Acceptance of others who are different than we are is what we want if we follow Carpenter’s message. Deleting people or ignoring those who do not believe like us is not the message of peace.

A young man sat in the back pew at church. He emanated the air of humility. He sang the songs from the hymnal and his eyes searched the congregation for acceptance. It was a bit obvious that he had been dismissed and marginalized many times. His clothes were marked by soil. He parked his bicycle by the front doors.

I vividly recall walking through the little village of Elkville with pants that were termed ‘High Waters’ as I was tall and had grown out of them. My friends had fine cars and I had none. I was hungry and was ashamed to admit it. I felt like a failure and worked every day often 16 and more hours per day. It is easy to feel that no one cares and wonders why you do not have more. Alone is your companion. Want and deprivation is a constant reality.

Do we love the mentally ill? Is the stranger welcome in our midst? Is our story targeted to the elite and financially secure or do we have a message for the downtrodden and forgotten?

Political life and the crowning of those who are rich have been elevated to a leadership plotline in our story. Are we perceived as an elite club of the educated and well-off while we bemoan our shrinking congregational base?

We are comfortable…do we want to be uncomfortable for Christ?