NOTE FROM THE PASTOR

The story is told of a Civil War chaplain, who one day encountered a wounded soldier on the battlefield.

“Would you like to hear a few verses of scripture?” the chaplain asked the wounded man. “No Sir,” he answered, “but I’m thirsty. Could I please have some water?” After giving him a drink of water, the chaplain asked again if he would like to hear some scripture, to which the wounded soldier replied, “No sir, not now; but could you put something under my head?” The chaplain did so, and repeated his question once more. “No thank you,” said the soldier, “But I’m cold. Could you cover me up?” At this point the chaplain took off his great coat and placed over the wounded man.

By now, he was afraid to ask again about the reading of the scripture, so he started to walk away. But the soldier called to his, “Look, Chaplain, if there’s anything in that book of yours that makes a person do for another what you’ve done for me, I want to hear it.”

Eugene Peterson commends the Bible as the very nourishment of God for the service of God in the world. By the grace of God, may we learn to apply the Bible to our lives, and our lives to the Bible.