Get Off the Sidewalk

Dr. Neil Gilliland

The house I grew up in was probably less than 500 square feet. It was so small we had to go outside to just change our minds. From the back door of our little gray-shingled house were four steps that emptied onto a little sidewalk that inched its way past two sheds that ended at the outhouse. The sheds were filled with the smell of the earth and garden tools, onions and potatoes, bicycles, baskets, burlap bags, and assorted other treasures. For those of you who are younger, or from a more urban background, an outhouse is a little building that is about 50 feet too close to the house in the summer and 50 feet too far in the winter. But what rattles uneasily in my memory is the sidewalk …that little strip of concrete…maybe 24 inches wide. Mom kept it swept and clean. It was an easy guide if you had to make your way to the outhouse at night.

But it was a tedious place for a little boy to spend hours in wait. You see, when I was little mom would say, “You have to stay on the sidewalk until the morning dew has dried. I don’t want you to get your shoes wet.” Not being the brightest child in the family, I never thought about replying, “My shoes will dry just like the grass,” or “That’s fine I’ll just go barefooted.” Instead, I sat or paced the sidewalk…waiting.

Do you ever wonder if the other disciples said to the young, brash fisherman Peter, “stay in the boat Peter…don’t get your feet wet”? Do ever wonder if some well-intentioned Antioch church member pulled Paul aside and said, “Paul stay here. Don’t get you shoes wet.” Do think some parents are saying, “Hey, stay here on the sidewalk…don’t get you feet wet. It is safe and dry here on the sidewalk. Wait till the grass dries.” The only problem is the grass never dries, and they never get off the sidewalk.

What if Laura Belle Barnard had stayed on the sidewalk? The FWB church in India would not have thousands of participants had the Cronks and Hannas stayed on the sidewalk. Last month, the stadium in Côte d’Ivoire and the auditorium in Brazil would not have been filled with believers, if the missionaries that joined them had stayed on the sidewalk.

Hey, kids and parents, your shoes will dry. Go barefooted if need be, but get off the sidewalk.

 

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