A country preacher decided to skip services one Sunday and head to the hills to do some bear hunting. As he rounded the corner on a perilous twist in the trail, he and a bear collided, sending him and his rifle tumbling down the mountainside. Before he knew it, his rifle went one way and he went the other, landing on a rock and breaking both legs.
That was the good news. The bad news was the ferocious bear charging at him from a distance, and he couldn't move. "Oh, Lord," the preacher prayed, "I'm so sorry for skipping services today to come out here and hunt. Please forgive me and grant me just one wish...please make a Christian out of that bear that's coming at me. Please, Lord!"
That very instant, the bear skidded to a halt, fell to its knees, clasped its paws together and began to pray aloud right at the preacher's feet. "Dear God, bless this food I am about to receive." (borrowed)
What a hilarious story--and yet, how many times do people choose to miss services to do other things just like this preacher? I have often wondered if I chose to miss church and go camping, go on vacation, watch the Super Bowl, go to the prom,........and Jesus returned at that moment, how would He judge me?
Someone once said that if it was time for the saints to be gathered together when the Lord returned that He would go to where His church was assembled and take them all home with Him. What if I had chosen to not be there at that service?
Going back to our story--one thing that makes it so funny is that it is the preacher that has skipped the services, but members do that all the time for a myriad of reasons and we seem to think that is OK. What would we think if the preacher really did decide to not come to services one week because he wanted to go hunting or camping or whatever? How would we all react to that? Is he more accountable to God for his whereabouts on the Lord's Day and Wednesday nights than we are? I rather doubt it.
I think I will just make certain that I am at ALL the services of the church so I don't run into a bear praying for his dinner.
Dana Burk
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