By: Obed Pineda
On a frigid Wednesday, when heavy sheets of rain had been pouring all day, there sat a man on a bench at a bus stop, waiting for his bus to arrive. He sat there, hoping that he had come to the right stop since it had not been long since he had arrived to this city and was still learning what routes took him where. Earlier in the week, while he was exploring the city to become familiarized with it, he had spotted the church building he had been long searching for and jotted down the times of assembly from their sign. He had committed to memory the bus route and made the decision to visit them on their next appointed time. Thus, here he sat at that bus stop, cold and drenched, anxiously waiting for his bus, that was late, to arrive. He imagined the warm, loving welcome he would receive from his brethren upon meeting them for the first time and introducing himself as a fellow member of the body of Christ and his chest swelled with excitement every time this thought played in his mind’s eye. Finally the bus arrived and he mounted his ride, headed toward his new brothers and sisters. An hour and a half later, after taking two buses, he arrived the building he had seen before and walked under the heavy rainfall toward it. When he approached the building, he saw a man sitting outside on the sidewalk and assumed him to be a man in need. He pulled out what little money he had left and gave it to the man, and proceeded to enter the place of worship. When he opened the door and went inside, he was met by a well dressed fellow who began to ask him what was the purpose of his visit? He informed him that he had just recently relocated and was searching for a sound place of worship. The man continued to question him and he soon realized that the gentleman was blocking the entrance into the auditorium with his body and was unwilling to allow him in. Due to his mode of transportation, he was completely soaked from the rain and his appearance was no different from the man he had previously witnessed sitting outside, which sparked the well dressed man’s distrust of him. In the end, he was asked to leave the premises and was escorted outside the building. Heartbroken, he found the man from before still sitting there and went and sat next to him. Dismayed by what he had just experienced, he was jolted from his thoughts when the man sitting next to him spoke, “Don’t worry son, they wouldn’t allow Me in either.” The man quickly turned to see who it was speaking to him, but He had already vanished from his side. The Lord proclaims, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40, emphasis added). The venomous potency of prejudice and bias thoughts has always lingered throughout humanity’s entire history. This creature of darkness owns many faces and the might of its influence is bred by fear. In the example of our story, a man was denied worship and fellowship based on an unmerited assumption unjustly ushered in solely by his appearance. Although it would be this author’s delight to say that this is only a story and no more, the truth is that it has taken place too often throughout the ages. Indeed, Scripture teaches us how the people of Israel were placed under Egyptian bondage because the new Pharaoh was ignorant of who Joseph was and feared that “the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us” (Exodus 1:8-10, emphasis added). Remember that Holy Writ previously had taught that “the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians” (Genesis 43:32, emphasis added) and without a doubt this sentiment prevailed within the mind of the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph. Jehovah God liberated His people from this cruel yoke and as they prepared to conquer the promised land He warned His people “you shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21, emphasis added). Sadly, this commandment was ignored by the people of Israel not only toward the foreigners in their land, but even against their own kinsmen. This terrible reality was especially true toward tax collectors who were all labeled as thieves and traitors for serving Rome. This poor image was automatically stamped on every tax collector, even if it was not so. This was the reason the chief tax collector Zacchaeus pleaded his case before the Lord saying, “I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (Luke 19:8). Yet, the compassion of the Lord healed Zacchaeus’ wounded heart as He announced “he also is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9b, emphasis added). The Master did not allow rumors, fueled by prejudice, to rob any man of the right to show his true identity to Him. Witnessing how unrighteous judgment was commonly practiced during His lifetime, further fortified His resolve to build His house of encouragement on earth; His church. Where the religious leaders of His time had created a type of caste system where the poor, the sick, and anyone deemed unworthy by them had been cast away, Christ boldly embraced them pronouncing to John’s messengers “the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matthew 11:5-6, emphasis added). It is undeniable that actions motivated by biases are still prevalent out in the world, but it is sorrowful to learn that this obsidian truth is also present inside the Lord’s church which He established as a safe haven for all who accept His Gospel. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of the power found within the walls of this house of encouragement is Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus. The apostle speaks about this graceful power promulgating “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1st Timothy 1:15, emphasis added). The weight of guilt of Paul’s previous actions were always heavy upon his heart, but in the beginning of his Christianity were made heavier by the skepticism he was met with by the disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26). Keep in mind that by this time Paul had been in Arabia for three years (Galatians 1:15-18) and had already been persecuted from Damascus for preaching the Gospel (Acts 9:20-25). In spite of this, his reputation of his previous conduct still proved to be troublesome until Barnabas interceded (Acts 9:27-28). Verily was he called the “son of consolation” by the apostles (Acts 4:36-37) because it was he who reminded the disciples at Jerusalem that the Lord accepts all who come to Him with a penitent heart. Thus, let us, too, never lose sight of our precious identity as the Lord’s house of encouragement.