Inspiration - (They Would not Let Me In)
It was a beautiful Sunday morning. People were filling the church to its full capacity! As they entered, each were
given a bulletin filled with announcements, topic of todays sermon, what songs they would sing and who to pray
for.
At the end of the line stood an older man. His clothes were filthy and you could tell that he had not bathed in
days. His face was covered with whiskers, for he had not shaved for a very long time. When he reached the usher,
he removed his tattered old brown hat in respect. His hair was long, dirty, and a tangled mess. He had no shoes
on his feet, and wore only soiled black socks to cover the sores upon his feet. The Usher looked at him turning
up his nose at the old man and said, "Uh, I am sorry sir, but I am afraid we can not let you in. You will distract
the congregation and we do not allow anyone to disrupt our service. I am afraid you will have to leave."
The old man looked down at himself and with a puzzled look on his face, he placed his old brown hat back upon
his head and turned to leave. He was sad as he loved to hear the choir sing praises to the Lord. He loved to watch
the little children get up in front of the church to sing their little songs. He carried in his pocket a small worn out
Bible and loved to see if the minister preached a passage from the Bible that he had underlined. But he was
respectful, and did not want to cause any commotion, so he hung down his head and walked back down the steps
of the big brick church.
He sat down on the brick wall near the edge of the church yard and strained to listen through closed doors and
windows to the singing going on in the church. Oh how he wished he could be inside with all the others.
A few minutes had passed by when all of a sudden a younger man came up behind him and sat down near him.
He asked the old man what he was doing? He answered, "I was going to go to church today, but they thought I
was to filthy, my clothes to old and worn, and they were afraid I would disrupt their service.
Sorry, I did not introduce myself. My name is George." The two men shook hands, and George could not help but
notice that this man had long hair like his. He wore a piece of cloth draped over his body tied with a royal purple
sash. He had sandals on his feet, now covered with dust and dirt.
The stranger touched Georges shoulder, and said: "George, do not feel bad because they wont let you in. My name is Jesus, and I have been trying to get into this same church for years -- they wont let me in either."