A classic from 2003
When we moved to Flint to assume the direction of the ministry here at the Character Inn we discarded or gave away many, many things. We now live in an apartment on the sixth floor in six rooms. We have a storage room in the basement. In preparation for our move we hauled away six truckloads of things at one point and gave many things to Goodwill or just threw them away.
There was one thing I could never throw away because it was too meaningful to me. It was my favorite Adirondack chair. A few who knew me well knew it was a cherished possession but there would really be no place for it in our new home. I held onto it until the last minute not sure what to do.
When the day of the move came a dear friend, John Webster came over to help us load the truck. The last item remaining was my Adirondack chair. I stood and looked at it and memories flooded into my mind. The chair has character and a history. It is a very photogenic chair. John and his wife Beth borrowed the chair from time to time as a prop for family photos. Beth’s photos are some of the best I have ever seen. She is the one who took the photo of our family that we have posted on our web site.
John and I stood in the drive for a while. I hated to say goodbye. John and his family were dear, dear friends. When we moved to the area six years earlier, his daughters were a specific answer to prayer as companions for our girls. They were inseparable friends. The Websters began to attend First Baptist and they are still there today.
John and I spoke for a few minutes not wanting to say good bye. I tried to express my admiration and love to him and then I said, “John, we would like you to have this chair.”
“How much do you want for the chair?”
“John, I would never sell it. Why don’t you just let me give it to you?”
“Oh no, Pastor, I couldn’t take your chair,” he said. “I know what that chair means to you.”
“That’s why I want you to have it,” I said.
He said, “Let me take care of it for you until you need it again.”
But I insisted that he receive it as a gift and as an expression of my love and appreciation for he and his beautiful family. When I finally persuaded him to receive the chair as a gift, he thanked me warmly and his eyes were cloudy with tears. So were mine. He considered it an honor to receive the chair that meant so much to me. The gracious way he received my gift was more than payment enough for the chair.
Last weekend John’s daughters came to the Character Inn for a visit. They brought pictures. The old Adirondack chair was in them. Shuffling through the pictures I noticed that John repaired the chair and gave it a fresh coat of paint. So the chair has gone to a good home, to people who appreciate what a fine chair it is and know a little about it’s history.
My heart was warm when I thought of how gracefully, even reverently John received the gift I gave him a year ago. When you think of it giving is a grace, but being a good receiver is a grace, too. The grace of receiving.
Many, many people will never receive good gifts from the Lord Jesus, even the gift of salvation, because they don’t have the quality my friend John has, the ability to humbly receive a gift as a gesture of love from someone else. John was a good receiver because he acknowledged the value of the gift and was willing to receive it without insisting on paying for it. God gave his only Son for our sin. Imagine the foolishness and pride of thinking we could ever somehow adequately compensate God for the life of his son. A person with a right understanding of the value of the gift simply receives the gift with a reverent heart, humble thanks and tear-filled eyes.
Kenneth L. Pierpont
November 3, 2003
Riverfront Character Inn
Flint, Michigan
