Covenant Church

It is said that an Aborigine can put his ear to the ground and know that an elephant is on the run five miles away. The Indian follows the trail of sound.

There are different kinds of trails. In the legal profession there is the paper trail. On a ranch, animal trails. In crimes, fingerprints. In church, love.

Wise persons tend to be careful about the trail they are leaving. Wise persons also learn not to burn bridges that could leave a good trail. One may want to return for a visit, or later have need to revisit a relationship.

As a young man I had charge of a small congregation which had grown from 17 to about 50— packing out the tiny sanctuary. How happy I was to find land that seemed a possibility for relocation. The owner was a lawyer.

With great optimism I visited the landowner and shared my interest of the church purchasing his property. He replied: “Well, let me first explain to you that I am an elected politician. It would not be good for my reputation if the public should hear that I am in a fuss with a church over money and property. Yes, I want to sell the land. However, I must ask you not to question me on the price, and do not ask me to lower the price.” Thereupon he announced a most ridiculously high price for the land.

I was angry. It was an attempt at proverbial “highway robbery”. He had trapped me with a vain argument to his benefit. In my heart there were lots of words that I would have like to say to that lawyer. I would not have cussed, but if I had spoken the words he would have had no doubt about how I felt.

Oh, Praise the Lord for his mercy and grace! Praise the Lord for the power of the Holy Spirit. I reached over, shook his hand, thanked him for the discussion, and made clear that the price was not possible for our congregation. He responded: ”Well, if you ever need help with legal services let me know.”

His last words did not put much oil in my wounds as I walked down the steps from his office. At the moment the lawyer had shattered what had been a possible dream. My little world was shaking. The immediate pulled a cloud over the sunshine of tomorrow.

Time passed. We found property that was ten times more beautiful. Better buy. We bought. We built. We received a contract to sell the old property. Then things complicated. The people buying our property had property to sell theirs in order to buy ours, and their property was to be bought by another party. A legal issue evolved.

In desperation for a lawyer who would respond quickly, I thought of those last words of the politician “If you every need help with legal services…” Back I went to his office. He was gracious and accepted the church issue as a priority. Pushed the work through in time. Charged only a fraction of the normal fee. I was so glad that I had not spoken all those words that came to my mind on the day of anger.

It is easy to burn bridges that prevent tomorrow revisiting yesterday. In the haste of a moment, relationships may receive ill treatment with the deficit being passed to a future appointment. It is wise to carefully consider the value of strategic bridges. Tomorrow is built upon today. Victories today make excellent foundation material for tomorrow’s successes. Hope for the future is mighty dim when the foundation of the past has been poorly laid. A careful foundation can save a crisis moment tomorrow.

As Assistant to the Department Head of Sociology of Virginia Tech, part of my task was to prepare the catalog for course registration for 2400 students. It came out with an error that could have wreaked havoc. I asked Dr. Bryant to give me one hour to work on the problem. Off I ran to the Registrar’s Office. A woman often referred to as a “battleaxe” by most people agreed to see me. I had carefully nurtured a relationship over the past year. She took the catalog of courses and wisely solved the problem within ten minutes. Made me look like a hero. My job was saved by kindness to “battle-axe”, who only wanted to be appreciated.

Transitory relationships are existential. Momentary friendships based on whimsical values lack quality of character. Integrity is not matured. Individuals, though spending time together, seek personal gain without investing selfless love into the needs of others. Relationships based upon selfish and carnal motives tend to destruction. Tomorrow cannot return to yesterday with joy: the bridge is broken. The loss can be both earthly and heavenly gain.

It is hard to repair trails of yesterday. One might begin by repentance and forgiveness. Ask God and others to forgive sins knowingly and unknowingly committed. Forgive trespasses of others and forgive self, of which the latter is the most difficult. Remember: Harboring bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person gets sick.

The future is more manageable. Beginning today you might think more carefully about valuing your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings, your fellowworkers, your classmates, your friends, and your church family. Make a trail of love and friendship easy to be followed, putting hope into tomorrow, and with bridges that have welcome signs to the past.

If you struggle with building beautiful trails, study the life of Jesus for divine patterns that work.

Hopefully making a trail to your heart,
Pastor Bare

P.S. Will you pass this article along to a friend?