The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 
1 Timothy 1:5 NKJV

This past Wednesday, I had what the medical profession refers to as “minor” surgery”. Of course, in my experience, the “minor” part has mostly to do with who is receiving it. Thankfully all went “Nominally” for the hernia repair but suffice it to say that most of this week has passed like a blur. Besides the obvious discomfort and subsequent difficulty readjusting to performing minor activities, (Like walking), the biggest issue was rescheduling all the various nursing home meeting for the week. I am very thankful for other volunteers who have stepped in and carried two of the meetings and the third I was able to reschedule for the following week. In 1 Timothy, Paul was facing on a far grander scale some of the same issues as he asks Timothy to deal with at Ephesus in order to correct the doctrinal drift of the church. When Paul first preached in Ephesus, a great revival had broken out and he had remained there about 1 1/2 years. However, just as he had feared, in his absence false teachers had slipped into the church along with some local leaders who had turned back to their traditional Judaism, and both were bringing in confusion about the entire point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, my circumstances are quite different than Paul’s, but some of his same challenges face all of us who do nursing home ministry.

Each week there sits in front of us a mixture of Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans and Catholics, along with Pentecostals and many garden variety, non-churchgoers. How are we to preach Jesus? What is the point of our ministry? As I came across today’s verse in a devotional plan that I am following with a friend, I thought, “This is it!” When we are sharing the good news of salvation through the cross and the love of God, there is no great goal than seeing people respond with a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Does this mean dancing around biblical doctrines, excusing sin or altering the foundation of salvation through Jesus? Absolutely not! But it does mean that we have no time to quibble about different backgrounds, various traditions or minor differences. There is precious little time left in the lives of our members and every moment that God gives us with them counts. The thing I missed most this past week was the butterfly release at Life Care. I was told that each person was given a tiny box with a living butterfly and in memory of those who have passed away this past year, everyone opened their container and released their butterfly. I thought how much that act was like sharing Christ at the nursing homes has been over these last thirty-five years. I have to the best of my ability given to them the love of Christ in both message as well as in friendship. I am also reminded that just like those butterflies, we all will soon fly off to Heaven or Hell. But in the meantime, I know that God, for His own reasons has entrusted me and many, many others with the responsibility of preaching Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen in places most of the world has forgotten and to pray that as their own box opens, that they have learned to love God with pure hearts, forgive and ask forgiveness from others with a clean conscience and trust in Jesus with all their hearts.

“We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa