Ringing phone confirms Jesus' promise

Somewhere in my library, I have a book titled “All the Promises of Jesus.” While it is not large, the book is chocked full of promises. “Ask anything in my name and it shall be given to you.” “If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.” “But you shall receive power.” “All things are possible to him who believes.”

Those are just a few of the promises in the book that I cannot find. On the one hand, the book is biblical and truthful. On the other hand, it is misleading and downright untrue.

“All the Promises of Jesus” reminds me of a label on the back of a box of cereal where someone has marked out most of the ingredients. All that remains are the sweet things.

Jesus made a lot of promises, but only some of them are in the missing book. He also promised, “You will have tribulation.”  He promised, “You will be divided, father against son, son against father….” He promised, “You will be handed over and persecuted.”

One of the most haunting promises that Jesus ever made was “The poor you will have with you always.” I do not remember that promise being in my little book. There is a perfectly good reason for its omission.

That is not the kind of promise most of us jump up and down about. It does not get the kind of press that other promises get. “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you.” Now that is a promise you can get excited about.

“The poor you shall have with you always.” Nobody puts that on a bumper sticker. Still, Jesus promised it. Further, if you answer the phone at a church once in awhile, you will see that his promise rings true.

As long as there are people who need help, churches will have plenty of business. The phone will always ring.

While people call churches for lots of reasons, these days most of the calls are for help. Folks need medicine, shelter, food, clothing and fuel. Some of them just need money.

One of the oddest calls we ever received came in a few weeks ago. For some reason, the man identified himself as Jewish. Initially, all he asked for was information.

“I am from out of town. Can you tell me where the Jewish Community Center of Marion is?” We know where a lot of things and places are in Marion. However, no one could think of where there was a Jewish Community Center.

“Are you sure there is one in Marion?”

Now we were looking for information. The caller knew less than we did. Finally, he revealed why he was looking for a Jewish Community Center. He needed help, in particular help getting to Wytheville, where a brother lived. What he needed was a ride.

It was only after we found a ride for our friend that I located the Jewish Community Center. Ironically, the location was the same for the Muslim Community Center and the Christian Community Center. On that day it was housed at our church; but on any given day you can find it at most churches in Smyth County.

Jesus said, “The poor, you will have with you always.” He knew what he was talking about since he was born to parents also seeking a Jewish Community Center. They found a stable instead. Poverty has no religious affiliations or denominational ties. Help should not have any, either.

Dr. Mark Ross is the pastor of Marion Baptist Church. To learn more about MBC, visit http://www.marionbaptistchurchva.com/.