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| Suspicious Substance and Righteousness |
"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. But God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sin.” Romans 3:23-24 (NLT)
The call was calm but firm and clear: “Please evacuate the building. This is an emergency.”
The letter contained what was being called a “suspicious white substance” and our mail carrier, the secretary who had opened it, the supervisor who had investigated it, a coworker who had brushed off the evacuation in order to continue working, another coworker who hadn’t heard the call, and our head of investigations whose job it was to stay and clear the building, were all being held until the situation could be sorted out by the proper authorities.
Evacuees filed outside into the rain and were surrounded by fire and rescue trucks, police units, street blockades, red “danger” tape around the perimeter of the building. The command from officials was to congregate at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church and stay put until given the all clear. “How fitting“, I thought, “that we would be provided refuge from danger and the elements by the house of God - like so many before us had been.“
As the door to the church closed behind us, we caught a glimpse of rescue workers in blue hazardous waste suits donning oxygen tanks and a tent-like structure being set up on the front stoop of our building…
The docent was happy to accommodate us with a condensed version of the normal tour. She told of this beautiful church, steeped in rich history and shown true favor from the Almighty, having never been architecturally compromised in any way, even though it stood only a block from the Capitol during the civil rights era when church bombings were rampant in the South. This was especially surprising in light of its pastor from 1954-1960 who had been none other than Martin Luther King, Jr. One of his more famous quotes is inscribed into the backdrop of a water element also located across the street from our building: “Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
“If something goes down, I wanna be sittin’ by the chick with the Jesus pin, ” said a coworker sitting beside me on the church pew - but only half-jokingly. “Truth!,” I said. “Cause me and Jesus are tight – but I can’t take you with me. You and Him have to be tight, you know?” He furrowed his brows a little and I said, “Admit…believe…call out.” He shook his head in what I took to mean recognition and agreement. Later, God would allow me to encourage a young intern in her faith as she struggled with fears over the deployment of her boyfriend to Afghanistan soon and about her young brother who had plans to go into the military.
An official updated us – “First test has come back negative. But we were not free to go just yet. Another test is being performed. Please plan on staying until you are given the all clear. That is all for now.”
New faces joined us inside the church as Rev. Cromwell A. Handy, the current pastor, approached the pulpit. He announced he was delighted the Lord had answered His prayer for a harvest (chuckles erupted from the crowd) and he invited us to stay for their normal weekly Wednesday Bible study which was about to start. He extended acceptance, comfort and encouragement to us and gave God the glory for how all things work together for our good.
He was interrupted by another official update – “You are allowed to leave the premises but no one could return to the building just yet. Thank you for handling this professionally.” As people rose to leave, Pastor Cromwell took a moment to pray for us and our families.
Emerging from the church, we found a scene right out of a movie.
One by one, the six contaminated employees were walked from the building, past the tent, and made to stand spread eagle, as hazardous waste officials meticulously scrubbed them down with a large brush and then meticulously rinsed them off in the same fashion. They disappeared into the tent, only to resurface minutes later donning the same blue hazard suit and were ushered into a fire rescue truck.
The call is calm but firm and clear.
“Please evacuate your sinful life. Admit you are a sinner - confess and repent of your sins. Believe in me - that Christ died to save you from your sins. Call out to me - to be your Savior and Lord of your life. This is an emergency.“ But how many of us carry sins around, open them up, investigate them, brush off God’s call because we are too busy or maybe because our heart is so hardened that we don’t even hear the call, or feel obligated to stay trapped in our sinful life?
He wants us to confess and then repent of the sins that are so harmful to us and our relationship with Him. To allow Him to scrub us clean, to decontaminate our life, through Jesus’ blood. To claim the title that He has already given us as being righteous. Tweet this! He wants us to enjoy a new life where we give our cares to Him, rest in Him. For us to take refuge from the dangers of this world in Him. And to tell others about Christ and become laborers who pray for a harvest, like Pastor Cromwell.
And the suspicious white substance found in the letter? Tests confirmed that it was, in fact, harmless.
Unlike our sin. Which God confirms is, in fact, deadly.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NIV)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9 (ESV)
“Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death.” Proverbs 11:19
“And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Luke 10:2 (ESV)
