I’m excited about Saturday! Not because I’m putting Christmas decorations up. Cause I’m not. It’s not time yet!

Instead, this Saturday, we will all be going to Whosoever Gospel Mission to help out and serve those who are in need. I think that it is very appropriate that we are heading down there as November, the month of Thanksgiving, has just started. I’m sure that as that holiday gets closer, I’ll be full of all kinds of biblical reasons why we should be thankful for all that we have, but I’ll save that for later.

What I think is worth pointing out, however, is a very important fact about the Mission. As I’m sure we’ll learn about when we get down there, this isn’t a place where people are forced to go to or even for people who just want a free meal and a warm bed…it’s much more. The Mission is a program for men who have had life not go well for them in one way or another, but who want to get their lives back on track, both spiritually and out in the world. These guys are getting an education, they’re working, they’re doing all that they can to live well in God’s eyes.

So here’s the question, then: Are you? I think it’s pretty safe to say, especially considering all the things we’re almost ready to be thankful for, we have been incredibly blessed. Now, we all have issues and problems, absolutely, but we have a home to go to and we receive an education, and have people in our lives that there is no question how much they love and care for us. And best of all, we have been exposed to Jesus when we are young enough to not let our lives go astray.

I think that we can agree that we have been blessed with much more than we may see on Saturday. So where is our passion to get to know Christ more? Where is our desire to work as hard as we can? Where is our drive to be the best we can be in God’s eyes?

Saturday is not just about the men we’ll meet who have been given a second chance. It’s about us…about you…who are still working on our first chance. Let this experience be encouraging and challenging….for all of us, together.