The Day the Cricket Attended Church

AS A YOUTH, I squirmed through many a worship service. This particular Sunday was to have an added distraction.

As soon as the preacher got up to deliver his sermon, a cricket walked out onto the stage. He probably came from one of the cracks found most anywhere in that old building. Everyone in the first three rows saw the cricket. He looked dazed, and stumbled near the edge of the pulpit area. Our eyes followed his every step.

We could see that he had come to the other edge again, and so we internally shouted to ourselves, Jump! Jump! But alas, the cricket did not jump. Time after time he walked back and forth. I did not know if the sermon was any good that day, but the cricket was sure fun to watch.

When the invitation song began, we all stood up and watched the cricket run. He almost got stepped on when the song leader walked toward the microphone, and we all laughed. Then my laughter turned to amazement.

Someone had gone forward! My Dad. He was not a Christian and my mom and I had been trying for years to get him to come with us, to no avail until today. Now the preacher was taking him back to baptize him.

“Dad,” I asked later. “What made you want to be baptized today?” Dad said, “Didn’t you hear how Jesus gave His life for us so that we could be saved?” I hung my head in shame. The beautiful message of the Bible did not reach me that day. I was watching the cricket.

THOUGHT: A lot of things will tend to distract a person from worshipping God. But I learned my lesson. God is more important than anything.

– KneEmail, #575

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24; cf. Malachi 1:7ff).