During the Great Depression, a Missouri man named Don Griffith controlled the railroad drawbridge across the Mississippi River.  In the summer of 1937, he took his eight-year-old son, Greg, to work with him.  At noon, he put the bridge up to allow ships their passage.  Enjoying the presence of his son, he lost track of time.  At 1:07, he was startled by the Memphis Express blowing its whistle in the distance.  He dashed to the controls and prepared to lower the bridge.

 Just before releasing the master lever, he panicked as he caught sight of his son. His son had slipped from the observation deck, and now he had his leg caught in the cogs of the main gears. Griffith quickly thought of a plan to rescue his boy, but there was no time. The express train carrying four hundred passengers was bearing down on the bridge. Saving his son would cost the lives of the passengers.

 In anguish, Don Giffith threw the lever and watched his son die in the cogs of the gears. His son’s death spared the lives of all the passengers on the train. As they sped by, great heartache followed as a numb Griffith stared into the windows of the speeding train. He saw passengers reading their newspapers and sipping coffee in the dining car – oblivious to the price that had been paid to save their lives. No one even looked his way to acknowledge his great sacrifice and overwhelming grief. Through tear-stained eyes, he screamed at the top of his voice to the passing train, “I sacrificed my son for you people! Don’t you even care?”

 Sacrificial love costs. Sacrificial love gives – and keeps giving.


 Mary stood and watched, in disbelief and anguish, as her Son was slaughtered like a lamb. His death had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah: “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isa. 53:7)

People are tired of being told they are homophobic (a made-up word) and intolerant (a very real and hurtful word) when they’re not.  People are sick of being compared to racists and facists when they’re not.  People are fed up with being looked down upon for holding to the traditional understanding of marriage.

 Maybe people can’t take on a federal judge or fight a presidential executive order, but they can buy chicken.  Maybe there’s nothing they can do when the news media attack can brutalize them, but they can buy chicken.  Maybe their work hours and family demands prevent them from participating in a heterosexual “kissing,” but they can buy chicken.  Maybe people feel otherwise helpless to do anything, but they can buy chicken.

 Homosexual rights groups, and especially the politicians who support them, should take note.  On August 1, there was an overwhelming turnout of people determined to make a statement about traditional values and their right to support them.

 That can happen on any given election day, too.

Ed Dodson often said that he disliked preaching about financial giving to the  church.  He said his previous job required fundraising, so he didn’t like putting any unnecessary pressure on people.  But when he was teaching through 2 Corinthians, and he came to chapters 8 and 9, he couldn’t avoid the topic of giving.  What I  remember most about his sermon was the illustration he used.  He placed an offering  plate on the floor, stepped into it, and stood there as he talked about the importance of  giving our whole selves to the Lord, not just our wallets.

Those two chapters in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians give us a number   of attitudes and actions that we are to display in our giving to the Lord:

• Give yourself to the Lord first (8:5).
• Give, remembering the example of the Lord Jesus (8:9).
• Give enthusiastically because of God’s love (9:2).
• Give generously, not grudgingly or because of outside pressure (9:5-7).
  
  Next time the offering plate comes around at church, imagine yourself stepping  into it.  It will help you to excel in the grace of giving (8:7).