The author Ron Lee Dunn tells the story of two altar boys. One was born in 1892 in Eastern Europe. The other was born just three years later in a small town in Illinois. Though they lived very separate lives in very different parts of the world, these two altar boys had almost identical experiences. Each boy was given the opportunity to assist his parish priest in the service of communion. While handling the communion cup, they both accidentally spilled some of the wine on the carpet by the altar. There, the similarity in their story ends.
The priest in the Eastern European church, seeing the purple stain, slapped the altar boy across the face and shouted, "Clumsy oaf! Leave the altar." The little boy grew up to become an atheist and a communist. His name was Marshall Josip Tito -- dictator of Yugoslavia for 37 years.
The priest in the church in Illinois upon seeing the stain near the altar, knelt down beside the boy and looked him tenderly in the eyes and said, "It's alright, son. You'll do better next time. You'll be a fine priest for God someday." That little boy grew up to become the much-loved Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.
There is the gospel! We are drawn, not by wrath and condemnation, but by love. God is love. God draws us by love. That's what Jesus meant when he said, "No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me."
Peace,
Skip
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Pastor James "Skip" French is the pastor of Highland Christian Church, 1500 Forest Hills Blvd., Bella Vista. Opinions expressed are those of the author.