John's tale

[Sojourner]

John, an elderly black widower living alone, started reading the Bible, watching Gospel programs on TV,  and ultimately prayed to the Lord for salvation. Soon, the Gospel programs were not enough, and he felt the need to attend church. The problem was, living in a remote, rural area, even if he found a church, he had no one to give him a ride. Doing a little research, he found there was a church about half a mile from his home, and decided he could manage the walk. Perhaps once he started attending, a member of the congregation would offer him transportation.

The next Sunday, dressed in his Sunday best and with His Bible tucked under his arm, John was off to church. But he hadn't even made it to the doors of the church when he was met by two ushers standing in the doorway, who politely suggested he might be more comfortable at a black church about 5 miles down the road. Very hurt and feeling dejected, John trudged on back home.

The awful experience stayed with John and really bothered him, so he took it before the Lord. After some time, his petition was answered when the Lord told him, "Don't let it bother you child. I've been trying to get into that church for over 40 years."