Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9. Doubt, especially self-doubt, is difficult to overcome. Some­times it is impossible. Kenny has dyslexia. He doesn’t read things backwards; he has a reading and comprehension difficulty. If he hears something, he can remember it, but reading takes special concentration and the meaning of something comes with great difficulty.

Kenny tried to hide his dyslexia, doing manual labor and stay­ing out of the limelight. But the manager of the warehouse where he worked had watched him and pegged him for a promotion. A big promotion. Mark wanted Kenny to be his assistant. Kenny was a very dedicated worker; he insisted on doing things over that were not to his liking and often stayed overtime to help gets things done at the huge plant. Kenny was an excellent worker.

When his manager offered Kenny a substantial raise and a pro­motion as assistant manager, Kenny was both honored and frightened. What if Mark found out he could hardly read? What if Kenny were required to write things? The offer so frightened him that the next day Kenny called in sick. The manager was confused. Why was Kenny not happy to take the position? Why had Kenny called in sick for the first time after six years on the job? What had Mark done wrong when he offered him the promotion? Was the raise not enough?

Mark called Kenny, but Kenny didn’t answer the phone. He was too frightened. Finally Mark drove out to Kenny’s modest home, climbed the stairs, and pounded on the door. Kenny answered the door and told Mark he could not take the promotion and that he was quitting in two weeks.

It was lucky for Kenny that his manager was a good, patient man. He told Kenny that if he quit, he would never be able to find another worker like him. Mark needed Kenny to help him watch over the workers. Kenny was trusted by the men and women who worked on the production line; they confided in him. The manager needed Kenny’s honest input and opinions. They would work well together. He argued and argued with Kenny and finally told Kenny he could stay at his position as long as he liked, but that no one else would get the offer of assistant manager. Mark turned to walk away, but before he did so, he told Kenny he believed in him.

Kenny would never use the word sentimental to describe him­self, but he was overcome with emotion as he headed back inside. Mark believed in him, that was obvious. But Kenny hardly be­lieved in himself. He cried at the edge of his bed, asking God what to do. He sat there so long he became sleepy, and when he finally fell asleep Kenny dreamed of his role model, a famous man. Kenny had listened to audio tapes of all his work, his biography, and any interviews about him. Kenny idolized this man and so in his dream he found the answer.

Kenny’s idol, Sparky, had a difficult childhood. Sparky had great difficulties in school: he failed almost every subject he took, and he didn’t do well enough in sports to make any team. Basically ignored by his classmates, Sparky was neither outgoing nor so­cially adept. Sparky lived a mediocre life, being a nobody, not fit­ting in anywhere.

But Sparky did one thing and he did it very well. He loved to draw. And he was proud of his drawings. He had decided to be­come an artist, and even though the drawings submitted to his high school yearbook were rejected, Sparky was undeterred. He was going to be an artist.

Sparky was so confident in the only thing he did well that he wrote to Mr. Walt Disney. He told Mr. Disney that he was submit­ting a cartoon idea and asked him to consider it. His idea was promptly rejected.

Nevertheless, Sparky was going ahead with his drawings. He decided to showcase his mediocre life in cartoon form. He showed an average kid who didn’t amount to much and who wasn’t taken seriously by anyone. He drew his experience from his own point of view. He drew because he knew he was good at it, and he was going to continue to submit his cartoons until someone took them. He at least believed that much about himself.

And the world loved it. Sparky’s comic strip, Peanuts, became more than a cartoon strip. It gave hope to others who were medio­cre, who were underachieving, who were not likely to succeed. For fifty years, Charles Schulz was a hero by illustrating his hopes, dreams, frustrations, successes and rejections in drawings. Charles Schulz was admired because he wasn't afraid to explore his rejec­tions and dejections on paper. Charles Schulz was a winner.

Kenny sat up. Charles Schulz, Sparky, believed in himself. Why couldn’t Kenny? Trembling, Kenny went to his manager the next day, and they talked about Kenny’s dyslexia, his inability to read well, and his poor writing skills. A deep bond was formed between the two men as they shared Kenny’s most intimate secret, his point of sorrow, the issue that made him feel ashamed. His manager re­assured Kenny that there was nothing to be ashamed of, Kenny could continue on the line part-time and part-time in the office, giving Mark needed feedback and reporting to Mark any inconsis­tency, danger, or irregularity he saw. Mark hired a part-time secre­tary for Kenny so Kenny could dictate notes and reports.

Kenny continued to be a dedicated worker, and eventually he hired three assistants to help him in his position of assistant man­ager. There are still times when Kenny has self-doubt, but Kenny knows God will love him no matter if he can read or write. Kenny has determination, grit, and a wonderful God.

He also has a great manager.

-- Constance Berg

Source: Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit

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GENUINE FAITH

The struggles in our lives sometimes seem daunting and formidable. We have tried all we know to make our situation easier to bear. On the one hand, we hope to slip away from them. On the other hand, we easily encounter doubt in God’s goodness.

Gary Parker, in his book The Case for Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 2000, p. 243), states, “If faith never encounters doubt, if truth never struggles with error, if good never battles with evil, how can faith know its own power. In my own pilgrimage, if I have to choose between a faith that has stared doubt in the eye and made it blink, or a naïve faith that has never known the firing line of doubt, I will choose the former every time.”

We sometimes have experienced unexplainable suffering and unpredictable affliction in our lives. While on earth, we never fully understand why we must go through trials. Saint Peter simply says, “For a little while, you may have to suffer through various trials” (1 Peter 1:6). At his time, Peter was particularly sensitive to the suffering Christians in many parts of the empire. He hurt with the sufferers. But Peter also had words of encouragement for them – words that encourage us as well.

First, according to his words, our suffering on earth is “for a little while.” Even years, which seem so long to us, are less than an instant when compared to eternity.

Second, trials have great value in proving faith genuine. A severe trial is sometimes called an “acid test.” Nitric acid is applied to an object of gold to see if it is genuine or not. If it is fake, the acid decomposes it; if it is genuine, the gold is impervious.

Saint Peter says, “The genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). In God’s view, our faith is “more precious than gold,” and it too must be tested. During hard times, we may feel overwhelmed with the fear that our faith is decomposing. However, take heart in God. Not only does he speak words of comfort and peace to our situation, but he also brings relief.

Third, trials give us a unique opportunity to experience our own salvation. When we take our trials for Jesus, we find ourselves “rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy” despite suffering and pain. This joy, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is evidence within that we “attain the goal of (your) faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

Therefore, in order to be strong enough to be unaffected by those “acid tests,” our faith must be rooted in the eternal. We place our faith in God and his promises. The better we know God, the more we can trust him, and the more we trust him, the more we experience the reality of his love, grace, and power. We can be assured that one day – maybe not on earth – our faith will be rewarded by our Lord.

When we suffer for Jesus’ sake and remain true to him, we find an inner certainty that God is real, and that we are saved.

Rev. Linh N. Nguyen