I led a funeral service for a very dear friend yesterday. She was just three months shy of her 105th birthday! And she really was an incredible person.
I was thinking about the changes she has seen in her lifetime. Imagine what life was like a century ago! And just as amazing as that, I thought about the lack of change before her lifetime. When she was born, I imagine her parents ran their farm very much the same way people had been operating their farms for centuries. Today, the equipment used is so very different it would boggle the mind of someone transplanted from the last century. And farming is probably one of the areas least affected by the changes.
We are certainly a far more prosperous country than we were a century ago. The incredible improvements made in our standard of living is astonishing. And she was an eyewitness! She saw all this happen!
I also thought about faith. A century ago, most everybody went to church. The church bell would ring to let people know when it was time to come. And they came. And often they stayed, with picnic and community events taking place on the church grounds after service. The church was the center of activities in many communities. And when something happened in that community, it was the church that responded first. And I personally think that’s the way it should be.
Today, fewer than fifteen percent of the general population comes to church when the church bell rings. Perhaps the more we can do on our own, the less we feel the need for God. Perhaps a century ago, we understood our dependence on God. Today we think we’re doing okay on our own. So we don’t come to church.
I was thinking about the changes she has seen in her lifetime. Imagine what life was like a century ago! And just as amazing as that, I thought about the lack of change before her lifetime. When she was born, I imagine her parents ran their farm very much the same way people had been operating their farms for centuries. Today, the equipment used is so very different it would boggle the mind of someone transplanted from the last century. And farming is probably one of the areas least affected by the changes.
We are certainly a far more prosperous country than we were a century ago. The incredible improvements made in our standard of living is astonishing. And she was an eyewitness! She saw all this happen!
I also thought about faith. A century ago, most everybody went to church. The church bell would ring to let people know when it was time to come. And they came. And often they stayed, with picnic and community events taking place on the church grounds after service. The church was the center of activities in many communities. And when something happened in that community, it was the church that responded first. And I personally think that’s the way it should be.
Today, fewer than fifteen percent of the general population comes to church when the church bell rings. Perhaps the more we can do on our own, the less we feel the need for God. Perhaps a century ago, we understood our dependence on God. Today we think we’re doing okay on our own. So we don’t come to church.
The sad part is, we really need God more than ever. We just don’t realize it.
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