Message summary:  Today we consider the covered bridge rule, better known as The Golden Rule.

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“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:9-11).

In our fifty years of service for Christ I have been described in a lot of different ways such as “preacher man”. For a number of years we hosted children from New York City as part of the “Fresh Air Fund” program during the eighties. This gave inner city children a brief respite in a rural area. Since our church had a number of host families in our community that was quite white our fresh air children, who were mostly black or Hispanic, were quite identifiable. One year we hosted a little boy who had quite a spunky personality. Someone asked him who he was staying with and, not being familiar with the term Pastor, he pointed to me and informed them, “I’m stayin’ with ‘da boss of ‘da church”.

But also as business chaplains we have been described in different ways depending on how people perceive us. Our normal practice is to walk through a company and briefly visit with each employee right at their workplace, expressing personal interest and ongoing care. Most are very receptive and over time we build many lasting friendships. Over time we have an opportunity to provide ministry and seek to be a witness for Christ.

But there are a few uninterested in talking with the chaplain lest a fellow employee think they are getting “religious”. Some prefer to keep a distance and we respect their workspace. After all, the chaplaincy service is an optional benefit to the employees.

We visit a company that hires a lot of temporary workers depending on the work load. On one visit Brooksyne introduced herself to a new female who shared that she was going through a very difficult time. When Brooksyne offered to pray she eagerly accepted and they shared a brief prayer right at her work site.

The employee expressed appreciation and then told her that when another temp co-worker saw us enter the building she said to her, “Here comes the ‘God people’”. She came up with a work chore that took her to a different part of the building to avoid seeing us when we walked through! It’s hard not to take that personally since we want acceptance from everyone and many express to us how much they look forward to our visits. After all, what’s not to like about us? ;) But in reality there are various reasons some people avoid those who represent Christ while there are others who look to us for encouragement, direction, comfort, prayer and friendship.

“God people” is an interesting description. She would have been more Biblically and grammatically accurate stating “God’s people” which we unashamedly are! Today’s Scripture text identifies us as just that. “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people”. Other versions use the phrase, “people of God”. As God’s people we seek to “declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light". Although we are not pushy or preachy we seek to sow seeds in a winsome manner, we nevertheless still face rejection by some for various reasons.

What is it about our presence that make some less than receptive or perhaps in some cases offensive? Of course in most cases we don’t know. This is a question those of us in ministry wrestle with from time to time. The prophets sure faced rejection as well as the Apostles. Of course Jesus did so as well (Isaiah 53:3).

But here’s a fundamental consideration: Our very presence is a visible reminder of God and this may be troubling to those living in rebellion against Him. How do people describe you? How do you handle rejection?

Be encouraged today!  Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber