Devotional 9-12-08

Jim
Last winter Johnson Memorial UMC lost one of its true saints, Jim Ray. Jim was the guy who helped everyone. He was known for helping shut-ins; taking them food, shopping for them, running errands for them, helping them stay in their homes rather than going to nursing homes. He also did all kinds of jobs around the church, chiefly, making coffee. He was a faithful volunteer at Christian Associates, the downtown churchs' food and clothing pantry.

At the funeral, the pastor gave those in attendance a chance to pay tribute to Jim. Many took the opportunity to speak; church members, family members of those Jim had helped; the director of Christian Associates. Finally a man stood up who most of us did not know. He introduced himself and the man next to him as TTA bus drivers. You see, with all Jim managed to do for others, he did not drive. Many of us were priviledged to have heard the words, "I'm going to let you take me....." but he was also known to ride the bus all over town.

The bus driver said that Jim would get on the bus and offer him a candy bar or a stick of gum and would ask about his family. He said Jim often talked about his church, then he said something that really struck me, "I knew this church had a good heart because Jim had a good heart." In his eyes, Jim was a representative of Johnson Memorial.

Would any of us act differently if we thought of ourselves as representing our church? If we wore a button that said Member of JMUMC would we be a little more likely to conduct ourselves in an honorable manner, to be a little kinder? In Colossians 3:17, Paul tell us, "...whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father."

Do you think Paul would have enjoyed having some of Jim's coffee? I'm sure Jim's happy brewing for the Almighty, but we sure miss him!

Anita Gardner Farrell