Former Portland, Oregon, Pastor Dale Galloway, tells this story that occurred at his church a few years ago:

On a cold, windy morning with the wind chill factor well below zero, the orphan boy, Ralph, walked to church. His friend, Mr. Kennedy, greeted him as he came in the door, “Glad to see you, Ralph.  Sure is cold out there today.”

With a smile Ralph said, “I sure did get cold walking this morning.” Surprised, the older man inquired, “You mean you walked here to church this morning?”

Ralph replied, “Yep, I didn’t have money for bus fare.”

“Well, how far did you walk, Ralph?”

“I walked four miles.”

Mr. Kennedy asked Ralph, “How many churches did you pass along the way walking four miles?” Ralph thought for a moment. “I passed twenty-two churches.”

Impressed, Mr. Kennedy said, “Ralph, why did you pass all those churches just to come to our church on this cold morning?”

Ralph smiled widely and said, “Because I’ve discovered that here they love a fella like me.”

Let’s work together to make a few more people feel that way.

Tags: Christian love