Have you ever heard the expression that you should ‘never judge a book by its cover’? When you really stop to think about it, many of us are judgmental of the things we see around us and sometimes, it isn’t always done in a way that seems fair. We tend to judge people by the way that they look, either for the good or the bad but we usually don’t take the time to find out what is going on under the surface and we certainly can’t read people’s hearts. That fact is nicely illustrated in this story about a man who was judged quickly but soon changed people’s minds for the better.
A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn’t shaved in a while.
His shirt was kinda shabby and his coat was worn and frayed.
The man knelt, he bowed his head, then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed, each noon time – came this chap,
Each time he knelt just for a moment, a lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister’s suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him, “What are you doing here?”
The old man said, he worked down the road – Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayer time, for finding faith, strength and power.
“I stay only moments, see, the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord, this is kinda what I say:
“I just came again to tell you Lord, how happy I have been,
Since we found each other’s friendship and you took away my sin.
Don’t know much of how to pray, but I think about you everyday.
So, Jesus, this is Jim – just checking in.”
The minister feeling foolish, told Jim that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome to come and pray anytime.
“Time to go”, Jim smiled, and said “thanks” as he hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the alter, he’d never done that before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love, and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart, he repeated old Jim’s prayer:
“I just came again to tell you Lord, how happy I have been,
Since we found each other’s friendship and you took away my sin.
Don’t know much of how to pray, but I think about you everyday.
So, Jesus, This is me – just checking in.”
Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim had not come.
As more days passed with no sign of Jim, he began to worry some.
At the factory, he asked about him, learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried, but Jim had given them a thrill.
The week that Jim was with them, he brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious – changed people, were his reward.
The head nurse couldn’t understand why Jim was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came, not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by Jim’s bed, he voiced the nurse’s concern.
No friends came to show they cared, he had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile –
“The nurse is wrong, she couldn’t know, that in here all the while,
Everyday at noon – He’s here, a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand, leans over and says to me:
“I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
AND I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERY DAY,
AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS … CHECKING IN.”