by John Amorelli
A few weeks ago, we had a new metal roof installed on our home, as well as porch repairs done. The contractors consisted of a father and son team. Periodically, during the installation of the roof, the father and son would take small breaks to eat and drink, rest and chit-chat with my wife and me. We had numerous conversations with the father, who was in his upper 60’s, more so than the son. The themes and subjects we would talk about ranged from being humble, God and the Bible, and the negative situation in our nation today.
You might say he was from the “old school” of thinking. The more and more my wife and I chatted with this older gentleman, the more we realized how humble he was and how much biblical wisdom this man had about life and the current state of the world. The most amazing part of the conversations was when he told us that he does not celebrate Christmas and Easter!! He explained how he had been lying to his son throughout his childhood, before realizing the many pagan falsehoods associated with these days and that the Bible does not command us to celebrate them. What a joy it was to actually meet someone in our neck of the woods who does not celebrate these man-made holidays. What was even more amazing was that he had knowledge of some of God’s truth.
Of course, we do know that God the Father alone does His calling and opens the minds of people, and I do not know how much of the truth this man does have. But one thing was for sure… it taught me a lesson. I DO know the truth and have been called, so how much more should I be living God’s Way and always be setting a right example, never knowing whom I might meet? This gentleman inspired me to live a better Christian life; to look at my flaws and ask God to help me correct them; to have better outward love and concern for others; not to sweat the small stuff; and to listen more and talk less!
I have a lot of spiritual work to do. The Eternal allowed this person to come into my life to fix our home, but more importantly, to give me a spiritual wake-up call and reflect on how I am doing! At the end, the roof was done and the porch was fixed. The question is: Will I heed this wake-up call and work on fixing my spiritual life?
