THE VISITOR
One day, a man went to visit a church. He arrived early, parked his car, and
got out. Another car pulled up near him, and the driver told him, "I always
park there. You took my place!"
The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat, and sat
down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my
seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude
welcome, but said nothing.
After Sunday School, the visitor went into the church sanctuary and sat
down. Another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always
sit. You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by this
treatment, but still said nothing.
Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the
visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became
visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation
noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?"
The visitor replied, "I took your place."
THE PRAYER CHAIR
A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her
father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his
head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The
minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
"I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?" said the father.
"I'm the new minister at your church," he replied. "When I saw the empty
chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the
door?" Puzzled, the minister shut the door. "I have never told anyone
this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never
known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer,
but it went right over my head."
"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day
about four years ago my best friend said to me. 'Joe, prayer is just a
simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest.
Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see
Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because He promised, "I'll be with you
always." Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing
with me right now.'
"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours
every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty
chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny
farm."
The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to
continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil,
and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell
the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he die in peace?" he asked.
"Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his
bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the check. When I got back
from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something
strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over
and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we all could go
like that."
2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight)
