Coming Or Going?

Coming or Going?

Jesus [said], “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”

Mark 6:4

Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether you’re coming or going, isn’t it? Actually, through the centuries, that phrase has been turned around. Originally, the phrase was “going or coming,” because women of old watched their husbands, fathers, and sons going off to war and then waited impatiently to see them coming home again. But because the armies could be seen for great distances, it was often hard to tell whether they were “going or coming.”

Me? Some days I do well just to remember whether I was going up the stairs or coming down. Do you ever have that problem?

One young man named George, who had come to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex from a small rural community, had worked hard for several years until at last he had gained some prominence in the banking world. His name often appeared in the financial section of the large city’s newspaper, and he was invited to all the major social events.

Finally, George returned to his hometown for a visit. Considering his new notoriety, he half expected that the greater part of the community would come out to meet him at the station and that some considerable fuss would be made over the local boy who had made good.

To his great disappointment, though, there was not a single soul around when he got off the train onto the station platform. He waited doubtfully as several people came and went, none of them giving him so much as a glance. At last an old baggage handler recognized him and shuffled forward to look at him with some interest for several seconds.

“Hello, George,” he said at last. “You goin’ away?”

Dear Lord, help us to be content with who we are in you, knowing that even you were not honored by your relatives and friends. Let us realize that our identity as your children is all we will ever need. Amen.