A few years ago we had some major trouble with one of the  heating units in our home.  I had to call the mechanic on three different occasions with various issues.  The last time I called him it was late in the evening, but he promptly came out and took care of the problem.  When he arrived I apologized about the inconvenient hour to which he replied, “Sir, we would be out of business if you didn’t have these problems, that is why we are here.”

     Sometimes I think as a church we have forgotten why we are here.  Many times we are repulsed by sinners and their ways.  We are quick to judge their sin and evaluate their indifference to God; but hasn’t the Lord called us to be the salt and the light?  Should we not, with the same compassion of Christ, reach out to those who are lost and doomed for hell?

     This is why we are in business; this is why we are here.  We are to speak with the words of Christ, love with the heart of Christ, and minister with the hands of Christ.  Our business is lost sinners and I think sometimes we have reduced our calling to nothing more than social encounters in religious buildings.  We are to make “house calls” to the world even if it is inconvenient to our schedule.  That is why we are here.