Berean Journeymen

There once was a man with three sons Leo, Sardi, and Phil who lived relatively comfortable lives and for the most part felt pretty satisfied about things.

Growing up their dad had loved them, taught them the basics and gave them adequate opportunities for success. The sons eventually went off and developed a fairly good life in a decent town with their wife, kids and a roof over their heads.

Just about every Sunday you could find them attending the morning church services and they were usually glad they went. The Pastor’s message would resonate at some level with each of them in a different way, but it would often fade away sometime between lunch and dinner that day, especially for Leo and Sardi.

Leo, he was a man who liked to wear sharp, pressed suits and silk ties on Sunday mornings. Primarily because He liked to feel the admiring eyes follow him across the room, which they often did. He usually stood by his dad in church with pride, but left soon after the service. On a typical weekend, Leo would spend most of his time between taking the boat out on the lake, enhancing the landscaping around the house and watching TV. He put in his dues at the office during the week with little time for much else and was well respected by his colleagues for his dedication to succeed. It’s not like he drove a Lexus, but one would be hard-pressed to catch him in a car over 5 years old either. Sure, difficulties popped up from time-to-time, but Leo usually pushed through them, with only a few casualties. From time-to-time he would call on his dad to bail him out of trouble, but overall Leo was a man’s man and could take care of things himself; life was pretty darn good.

Well now Sardi, he never quite had the drive that Leo possessed. He had a decent job and faithfully put in his 40-45 hours at the office but didn’t feel compelled to move up the ladder. He was content cracking jokes around the coffee dispenser. Most days after 5 o’clock, it was his time; his time to decompress; his time to click on the tube and crack open a cold one; he had no beef checking out the Victoria’s Secret catalog when no one was around, after all it was OK to look if he didn’t touch, right? Just about every weekend, Sardi liked to take off and do things with the guys despite his wife’s requests for more family time or his dad’s insistence to do something together. Periodically he would go to a church function with his wife to ‘show face’ but really didn’t want to be there. Any time his dad was there, Sardi would be sure that others saw him showering his dad with praises, as that was the ‘Christian’ thing to do and others seemed to think highly of his dad. Sardi was always relieved when it was time to leave though. Most people thought Sardi was a pretty nice guy and for the most part Sardi was pretty happy.

Phil did alright too. His job wasn’t the greatest but he knew it paid the bills and provided for his family and he was grateful for that. Phil had quite a few sincere friends at work and many would come to him when they needed help or were just looking for someone who would listen. Work was alright, but he really looked forward to coming home to his wife and playing with the kids. There was just something about that that he loved so much. He loved to just be with them in the same way his dad had done with him. Phil took time to tell his kids stories about how much their Grandpa loved their Daddy very much too and found teachable moments to share all the lessons he had been taught. Phil loved his dad and talked with him often. He often thanked his dad for all he had done for him over the years and Phil leaned on him pretty heavily when difficult times arose. His dad was always there when he needed him; Phil appreciated that so much. Some evenings and weekends Phil would help his dad with special projects or odd jobs that needed to be done. Even though there were times he went begrudgingly, there was not one time when he didn’t come home feeling utterly filled and truly glad he went.

One Sunday night while the boys were asleep, the rattle of a phone shook them awake and the voice on the other end of the line yelled “WAKE UP!” Unexpectedly, their dad was suddenly fading away and didn’t have much time left; the end was near. They all rushed out the door and headed towards their dad’s house. Each arrived to find their dad lying motionless in his bed.

Leo entered and stood strong at the foot of the bed with clenched teeth. Sardi made his way over to the nurse in the corner and was telling her about how great his dad was. Phil went straight over to his dad with tears streaming down his cheeks and sat beside him, gently stroking his dad’s brow.

Over the next half hour, their dad’s breathing became slower and slower and the moments of his chest raising with air became farther and farther apart. A long, slow exhale then escaped his lips and the brother’s all felt the lumps in their throats expand as their heads sank. Then with a sudden, raspy gasp, their dad lifted his head and opened his eyes. He scanned the room, his gaze stopping briefly at each boy. Then in a loud booming voice, like one they had never heard nor even known before, he addressed each one by name.

“Leo, you have become successful in the eyes of the world and think you have all you need for happiness. But I say to you, you are wretched, pitiful, poor and blind. You have wasted your life on things that mean nothing; for the things held high in this world are worthless in the life to come, which you will endure forever. You must be earnest and change, starting this very moment in time. Know that I always loved you, even when I disciplined you. Remember my teachings and all that is promised…then overcome. If you do, your rewards will be greater than anything you have experienced or can experience in this brief lifetime.”

“Sardi, to others you act as if you love me, but your acts prove you do not. You pretend to be alive, but you are dead. Do you think the motives of your heart are not known? Do you think your deeds are not seen? I know your deeds and a day will come when they will be revealed for all to see. Know that I have always loved you and taught you all you need to know. If there is anything you received from me that remains, strengthen it, obey it, and change, starting this very moment in time. If you do not change, your very breath will be stolen from you when you least expect it and you will not get it back.”

“Phil, my dearest Phil, I know your deeds and they have blessed me. I know that despite the difficulties in your life, you have kept my words near to your heart and turned towards me. I know that you loved me and you know I have always loved you. I tell you the truth, one day your brothers will fall at your feet in awe of the love we shared; they will weep as their eyes are opened and they see all we shared and all they missed. A time is coming when the whole world will experience an hour of trial, but since you have endured patiently, you will be kept safe. You will receive my blessings for all time.”

His eyes fluttered closed and his head softly lowered back to the pillow. And with the breath that would be his very last, he exhaled his final words “He who has an ear, let him hear.”

Friends, may we all hear the pleading of the Spirit in our lives; may we all know the urgency of our times; may we all see the repercussions of not changing; may we all embrace the vision to get back to basics and understand why we must.