This morning, I discovered that a dear friend from my former church suffered a mild stroke and was taken to a local hospital. At this point the full extent of his condition is not known but when I heard the news, my heart sank. Immediately I was moved to think and pray about his condition, his family, and the needs he may be facing. But to be honest, what next flashed across my mind was the many years of friendship our families have enjoyed and the great service he has rendered to the cause of Christ in that church and me personally, as well as my wife and kids. In fact, it was my daughter who notified me early this morning on her way to work at the hospital and offered to go see him– no, told me she was going to go see him. I remembered a time, many years ago, when a church bully made my life miserable, brought ugliness and evil into my life, slandered my wife, and threatened to turn a church against me for no reason, other than his own pride. And I remembered how that felt, and that a number of men, including this man, gathered around me, talked with me, sat with me, and encouraged me that my pain would end and there would be a new day. In a similar fashion, it’s hard to underestimate the power of a good “sitter” and likewise, the distress that can be wrought by one who is lacking in grace. In a fine book, author Joseph Bayly, recounts his pain after the death of a son. He writes:
I was sitting, torn by grief. Someone came and talked with me of God’s dealings, of why it happened, of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly, he said things I knew were true. I was unmoved except to wish he’d go away. He finally did. Another came and sat beside me. He didn’t talk. He didn’t ask leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour and more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, left. I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go.(Joe Bayly: The last Thing we talk about)
I survived my troubles because God’s peace was stronger than man’s violence, and because this man, and a number of others like him in our local assembly, sat with me, some cases, saying little, in all cases, offering what I needed the most– their love and support.
And that’s why, when the Apostle Paul was languishing in a Roman prison that was cold, dank, and missing all forms of civilized treatment; while alone with his thoughts, and contemplating his future, he asked not for money, not for legal counsel, nor a reprieve. He asked for his books, he asked for his overcoat, he asked for the Scriptures, and he asked for a man. “Send John Mark, Paul said, for he is valuable to me– not for his greatness, not for his stature in the community, and not for his accomplishments. I think he wanted John Mark to come because in the absence of so many who had deserted him, here was one man who would sit with him. Just, sit with him, reminisce about the great things God had done and the future hope they both anticipated. (2 Timothy 4)
Are you that kind of man? Maybe you’re that kind of woman. I commend to you the needy and the sorrowful, the bruised, and bullied.They may be right next to you, or they may be teaching you, even preaching to you. They may be hurting, noticeably unsettled, or silently suffering and God has called you, at least some of you,or especially you, for “such a time as this.”
Sounds like a great day for a “sit-in”
MJC
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