Conference Update

I attended the worship service last night at Annual Conference. Myrna Wheeler was the speaker. I was forwarned that she was not a good speaker by some friends who know her. She does not have a great speaking style, but she had a very good message. She told the story of her father who as she described him was a good Christian man all his life, but also a "bitter" and angry and uncaring man. She said all his life he never missed going to church on Sundays, serving in various leadership capacities, tithing, being the good Christian man. But she told the stories of the various relationships he broke off with family and friends because he was unwilling to compromise his beliefs and because he was always certain he had the truth. He broke off his relationship with his mother after a disagreement about taking care of something in the house she lived in. For more than forty years until she died he never spoke to her and never allowed his children growing up to visit with her. He broke off relations with his only brother over the same issue and Myra never had the opportunity to play with cousins. He left a church over an issue and actually moved to another town to participate in another church. When Myra's daughter grew up and married a black man the daughter became a pariah to her grandfather and he wouldn't allow her into his house. And on and on it went.

Myrna said "He missed the point." He was a good Christian man but he wasn't really because he didn't know anything about love, compromise and forgiveness. Happily, at 90 years old he had an epiphany and began to mend relationships. He welcomed his granddaughter into his home to celebrate his 90th birthday and saw his 10 and 13 year old great grandchildren for the first time. He wrote to his brother and asked for his forgiveness and reconciled with him. He died a happy man at 93, finally figuring out what it really meant to live a Christian life.

Myra's point: there is something more important about being right in these times when we are divided by contentious issues. We can be right and still be very wrong. What really matters is not being right but being loving and gracious. It was a good message.