Previously we learned that Clod was a “loner” in his school situation, as his classmates ostracized him due to his facial birthmark disfiguration. He and Pastor Mack had become good friends and enjoyed their time together sitting on the park bench during lunch-time eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
We also learned that he and his grandmother had become Christians.
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As time passed, Pastor Mack didn’t see Clod as much, except for those Sundays Clod and his grandmother were able to come to church together. This was especially true after Clod moved on to other schools after completing the elementary level at the school located next to the church. Pastor Mack had warm memories of the times the two of them shared sitting on the park bench.
One day, out of the blue, Pastor Mack received a letter. The letter was from Clod. It read:
“Dear Pastor Mack,
“I want to thank you for all you have done in my life. When we first met I was so down and lonely. None of the kids wanted me to share playtime with them. I was left out of everything and ostracized by my classmates because I was so ugly. You encouraged me and didn’t criticize me.
“Then one day you came and sat down next to me on the bench. The way my face looked didn’t seem to matter to you. You were one of the first people I met that accepted me just as I was. I always felt so much better after we had those short visits and especially the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“I’m sorry that I have not been to the church lately. It seems school has just taken so much of my time. I have graduated from high school and have joined the Army. Basic training is nearly over, and soon I’ll be shipped to wherever God sends me.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for everything and for introducing me to Jesus. Without Him, I don’t know where I would be.”
Thanks again!
Sincerely yours,
Clod
That was the last letter Clod ever wrote. Soon he was shipped to where the fighting was the fiercest, in Afghanistan.
Clod told many of his fellow soldiers about Christ and many of them also became Christians.
Several months after he wrote the letter to Pastor Mack, two soldiers rang the doorbell at his grandmother’s house. Clod had been killed in combat. When Pastor Mack heard about Clod, he went to the grandmother’s home to console her and to pay his respects.
While he was there the grandmother showed him Clod’s room. Next to Clod’s bed was his well-worn Bible and his favorite photo. Pastor Mack put on his glasses to see the photograph better. It was a picture of Pastor Mack and Clod, sitting on the park bench eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
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Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:34-40 NLT
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15 ESV
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