Happy Labor Day, Dear Friends,
On November 28, 1942, according to Fulton Oursler, there was excitement in the city of Boston. It was a blustery afternoon, but thousands of sports fans were filling into the stadium for a crucial game between Holy Cross and Boston College. For the first time in history, Boston College was on the verge of an undefeated season. Holy Cross had a 4-6 record, and everyone thought the game would be a pushover. The Boston team planned a great celebration and had rented a famous nightclub for the evening.
However, everything went wrong from the opening whistle. Boston College suffered a humiliating defeat, and the team left the stadium dejected and disappointed. There would be no bowl bid, and no one felt like celebrating. The next morning the team couldn’t believe the headlines. The Coconut Grove Nightclub — the place of the intended victory rally — had burned to the ground in one of the most terrifying fire disasters in U.S. history. 491 people had died. Before the gala was canceled, the Boston College team was scheduled to be there at the very hour the fire occurred.
We never know what our real blessings are, do we? A lot of victories turn out to be losses, and a lot of losers become winners. A man misses his flight and discovers his misfortune to be, in reality, his most fortunate day. When you really get down to it, things are never as bad as they may first seem.
Jesus came from an obscure village in a faraway part of the world. He was born of peasant parents and received his education in a carpenter’s shop. His followers were fishermen, a tax collector, and various other common working people. His travels never took him more than 150 miles from home. At his death, he left only a robe, which was given away by the rolling of dice. He only lived 33 years, and his life became a threat to those in power so they decided he must be put to death. So, they fixed him to a cross and watched him die. When he was gone, they congratulated themselves that they would no longer be challenged by a man who talked about love in a world where only force seemed to count.
It’s been 2,000 years since those days, and now we know who won. Every time you write the date, you acknowledge his place in history, for we count time from the year of his birth. In a world often divided and confused to the point of despair, we need to remember the triumph of Jesus. He stands as an eternal reminder that James Russell Lowell was right when he wrote the following lines:
Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet ’tis truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold,
And upon the throne be wrong,
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow
Keeping watch above his own.
We need always remember that, in the end, goodness, righteousness, and justice prevail. When you learn to count your blessings, you often realize that many times you didn’t know what your real blessings were.
Remember, you never know when you have had a good day,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
