When I was a pastor I used to fantasize about being a mail carrier. I figured the pay would be about the same and the pressure exponentially reduced. The weight of letters doesn’t compare with the charge of souls. I knew a couple of the privileged class of postal workers and they seemed so much less stressed than me. Lots of fresh air, a can of mace for un-neighborly dogs, and home for dinner minus the onus of what didn’t get done that day. What’s not to like?
If you’re a mailman or woman and your daily task is something more difficult than I’ve indicated, I apologize for misrepresenting you. I’m sure, unlike the temperate climate in my West Coast city, harsh weather can be pain, not to mention menacing home alone canines. No doubt, unlike the olden days, fewer and fewer of your customers give you a fruitcake at Christmas.
But all things considered, you have to admit that when carriers of all things postal finishes emptying their bag, they home without a care. That is, unless they don’t empty their bag. Woe to the mail delivery person who fails to deliver all the mail!
A pedestrian metaphor to be sure (pun intended), but consider the follower of Jesus with his/her bag full of God’s party invitations. Not that difficult a job really. Just out delivering the mail, bad weather and angry dogs notwithstanding. We don’t write the mail, address it, or pay the postage. We just have to – rather, get to – distribute it to those that God wants at his party. We don’t have to throw the party or pay for it. Jesus took care of all that. We don’t even have to convince people to come. That’s the Spirit’s job. Pretty simple when you think about it. Just deliver the invitations.
But consider those Christians, of course we’re talking about those other Christians, whose bag whose bag at the end of the day is still full. Maybe they got distracted with pouring over their own mail. They could’ve been deterred by inclement conditions or the threat of snarling dogs, but when they arrived home their mailbags are still full of undelivered invitations.
barney wiget 