As society judges people, Orville was one of the most un-cool guys I’ve ever met. Most of his teeth were missing. And the few that remained poked up at odd angles in a mouth that was often caked with dried saliva. A sizeable paunch rendered his physique something other than cool. His few strands of hair were as wiry as they were wild—definitely not cool. Truthfully, there was little about Orville’s appearance that suggested he was anything other than a country bumpkin.
Orville was a farmer all his life and I didn’t know much about the man—apart from his appearance—until I observed the 175th anniversary of the church he attended all his life. Amid the many tributes that were made, Orville’s name came up several times.
I listened as an older man stood up and recounted the story of his coming to Christ. It was Orville who had first invited him to a men’s Bible study. It was Orville who followed up when the man failed to show at the men’s’ group. It was Orville, who helped this frightened new believer work through his first time praying out loud in a group. “You just follow me,” said Orville, who prayed simply and gently and continued to work with his friend.
There were other tributes to Orville. And it all got me to thinking. Maybe we Christians have been swept up in the world’s notion of coolness. Of being “really in.”
But as I read the Bible, the one “in” that Jesus is most preoccupied with: being “in” the Lamb’s Book of Life. Helping others get their name in! And I’m guessing by that standard, Orville’s life must might put mine to shame.
When my wife and I were married, it was Orville who volunteered to clean up the reception. Cups and plates and napkins…crumbs and spills. Orville made sure it was all cared for…so we could drive off to our honey moon. And he did it all with a near toothless smile—and not a single ounce of self-congratulation.
He’s been dead a good fifteen years now. Yet Orville’s name and reputation and investment in the kingdom of God lives on—as the names of the righteous—always do.
Know any people who are completely uncool?