Faithful to point of sin

My first real job was working for Blimpie, a sub shop.  Some of my sandwich making abilities still stem from my days at Blimpie.  Just ask my kids about my sandwich art. Just one of my secrets to a fantastic roast beef American is garlic powder.  The background story on this sub shop involved my neighbor, Steve, who was a single dad.  He eventually married a lady with a lot of money.  He wanted something to do, so they purchased a Blimpie franchise.  He was willing to hire me at 15 ½ when I couldn’t get a job anywhere else.  The odd thing about Blimpie was that it was located on a corner where nobody saw us.  We had great sandwiches but we were a hidden secret.

           

I had three bosses and they all worked differently.  I usually worked for the owner, Steve.  He was a pretty normal boss.  He would make you work, but for the most part he sat back with the books and other paperwork.  Then you had Kathy, his wife.  She was the one who would make you do everything.  If we were slow, which we often were, she’d have us clean table legs that were already clean.  She would make us clean greasy bread racks that we put paper on before we ever put the bread down.  She found the craziest jobs, and the hardest jobs.  Then you had Kate.  I loved Kate, Steve’s sister.  Kate loved to smoke, so she took smoke breaks all the time.  She would allow us to eat our free sandwich with her at the table in the dining area.  She would always get a bag of chips to share with me.  We weren’t allowed to serve broken cookies, so Kate would break a cookie or two.  It was an easy pick.  Anytime I would see Kate’s name on the schedule, I’d be thrilled that I was working that shift.

Here’s the thing, though.  Kate was breaking all the rules; and honestly, I was getting paid to do things that were ultimately cheating my boss.  This weekend we talk about Potiphar and how his wife tried to cheat on him with Joseph.  In the context of my story God had me serving in an area that is key for all workers.  I tell teenagers it is important to embrace fast food joints.  They teach you when you work there that jobs are not always easy.  Fast food jobs help you realize that you want to work hard in school so you can qualify for a better job later.  I may have loved Kate, the manager, but I was cheating my boss.  This puts a whole new light on Joseph who did not cheat his boss.  Sure, adultery and being lazy at work have different consequences, but it is all about embracing the season God has given us to serve Him.  This weekend we look at Nobody’s Left Out, understanding that there are seasons of serving that we may not love, but there are also challenges that they provide.

Our series, Nobody’s Left Out was derived from multiple angles.  There are youth and kids who feel like there is no place where they can serve.  This has been my heart cry for most of my ministry.  But there are also people who feel like most of the servant opportunities don’t fit them, or they don’t know how to use their gifts.  There are also people who serve here for years and then they become shut-ins.  They no longer can regularly grace our doors, which then makes them go through a time of mourning at the loss of service to their church.

On Monday night I headed out to see Evelyn Coleman for the last time.   I got a moment to see her resting so peacefully as she heard a psalm, a prayer, and the final time she would hear the benediction on this earth.  On Tuesday morning Evelyn went home to Jesus.  Evelyn was faithful to the point of death, and now she is resting with Jesus.  She and George served Mt. Calvary for years, and left their mark.  But even further, they leave their mark as Extraordinary Servants who poured this idea into their kids and grandkids and taught them how to serve.  This is very evident through what I have seen in the work of Evelyn’s daughter and grand-daughter.  This is a reminder as we continue to look for ways God can use us as Extraordinary Servants.  Evelyn was able to come to Easy Access, but she was not able to make it here every Sunday.  Yet she was not left out; and her legacy of servanthood, taught to her by Jesus, lives on in her family.  While we mourn the loss of a congregant and a friend, we rejoice that she is resting peacefully, serving Jesus in extraordinary ways in Heaven.