One year right after Christmas I was flying through Atlanta on my way to Tampa to speak at a Bible conference. I had a few minutes in the airport so I picked up a copy of the Washington Times (December 26, 1994, p. A2). One of the articles gave a synopsis of the sermon on Christmas Sunday at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The preacher began his message this way;
“This morning I want to talk about incarnation and children. But let me begin with the comments of a drug dealer to a minister. . . . ‘Rev, when a kid gets up in the morning and heads off to school, I am there. When he comes homes from school, I am there. When he comes out to play, I’m there. . . . They know where I am, Rev. Where are you?’”
“Rev, where are you?”
I’m a Rev. That question is for me.
Evil is all around us.
Where is the church of Jesus?
I write these words at a moment when our nation is deeply divided. We disagree with each other and often we don’t trust each other. Across the political spectrum we are beginning to realize that what is wrong with America is moral and spiritual. I think people are beginning to see that it is going to take more than money to rebuild our cities and our homes, our families and marriages, and to preserve our children into the next generation.
We need a new birth of compassion.
You can read the rest of the message online.
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