"Tension............................"

The balcony was not all that inhabited during evening church service last night, so when an individual seated himself two rows behind me a few minutes before worship began, I took notice. He was about five six, late twenties, early thirties, his weight no problem, with dark black hair and beard. There was a frown on his face, a look as if being there in no way related to a wish on his part to hear the Gospel. Indeed, his presence struck me as odd; and, when I turned around a few minutes later, in-between songs, only to discover his chair now empty, his disappearance bothered me as well. It’s the world we live in. Just an old man chasing his thoughts when it was all over, but peace required an investigation of that spot, my hand exploring the area for anything he might have left behind. Nothing found. Walking downstairs, however, I would encounter him once again, this time positioned in the rear doorway of the sanctuary, his dislike of something yet quite obvious. Then, a few minutes before the sermon, our disgruntled visitor repeated his ability to suddenly vanish… A Southern Baptist, perhaps, who mistakenly walked into the wrong bunch without checking the sign out front? A fellow fighting with his wife and, driving down the road, thought a few hymns might put him in a better mood? Maybe a friendly handshake instead of a questionable stare would have encouraged his company. Hard to say. If it looks like duck, quacks like duck, though, well..., better nowadays to investigate, it seems to me, and apologize later. We spent two hours after school today discussing possible scenarios should a gunman ever decide to enter the premises. Mostly it involved discussion on barricading, evacuating, and throwing shoes, staplers, whatever’s handy, at the intruder, since defending ourselves with a real weapon isn’t yet an item available to us. I say all the above, however, convinced that the best any of us can know in this world, regardless the circumstance, is His hand upon us as we go, not as some guarantee of our escaping misfortune, but as a promise that nothing can separate us from His love. A little wisdom, of course, goes a long way. I’ll trust His rather than mine any day……