I met an old farmer a few years ago who was not a religious man at all. In fact, he was against religion. He was skeptical of preachers mainly because as a young man he had been advised to stay away from us because, he was told, all we wanted was his money. But his curiosity got the best of him and eventually he requested a visit from me. When I visited, he gave me the history of his life and his family. He was a successful farmer, his children were all successful in their chosen professions. His grandchildren loved him and his wife and everything was good … except … he had just discovered he had a terminal illness and was only expected to live a couple months. I had my work cut out for me, because if you know farmers, you know that they are fiercely independent people who don’t need help and if they do, they certainly will not ask for it.

But there are some things pure grit and determination just won’t accomplish. One of them is getting your soul ready for eternity. That’s what he wanted to talk about. I told him that it’s really not complicated. The Apostle Paul said: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

There is another man I know who wrote God off many years ago when he was drafted into the Army.

I made the comment to him that God is near to us when we reach out to Him. His response was: “Oh yeah? Where was God when I went to Vietnam and my buddy died in my arms in combat?” He was mad at God.

I don’t have the ability to turn one’s heart toward God – but God does. In fact the Bible says: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh,” (Ezekiel 36:26). Later this man came to church. He told me it was the first time in 53 years that he had been in church. What impressed him the most was that there were young people sitting in front of him who brought their Bibles and followed along during the sermon and even took notes. He didn’t think young people

went to church anymore, let alone took notes.

Finally, I have a story about a man I met from Chicago. After he retired, he and his wife moved to the pastoral countryside outside of Martintown, Wisconsin where they bought a little piece of land and began to build a new house. About half way through the project, his wife passed away very unexpectedly. He was devastated. After her death, he quit living. He sold the unfinished property and moved into a little house in town and became a hermit. But people from our church befriended him. It wasn’t long until he started coming to church.

Another man invited him to ride along and be his wingman when he drove a snow plow for the township. The man started enjoying these adventures. and eventually God broke through into his heart.

When he passed away, our church lost a best friend. His funeral was a celebration of life.

God has a plan and a purpose for you. We can help you discover it.

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Kevin Cernek is senior pastor of Martintown Community Church.