In the Shadow of the Cross* #1040

In the Shadow of the Cross In the quiet, unseen hours, under the expansive sky of our shared existence, where the whispers of Hebrews 6:10 resound, there lies the undying spirit of our volunteers. "God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them." These words, like a beacon, light the path they walk—paths not paved with gold but with goodwill and the richest of soils. They come, not for earthly wages, for what treasure could equate the heart? They come because in the heart’s expanse, there is room—room to pour out, to fill up, to change and be changed. Our volunteers, artisans of the spirit, weave through the fabric of everyday, stitching warmth where cold has settled, mending breaks in beaten paths, and lifting the fallen leaves forgotten at the doorstep of indifference. Their hands, though empty, hold worlds—creating friendships that do not count the cost but know the value. Each gesture, each moment spent, a silent sermon preached beneath the cross they bear together. This fellowship, bound by the common thread of Christ's love, finds security not behind locked doors, but in open hearts. They build more than community; they build a sanctuary of acceptance, where every neighbor is a brother, every sister seen. In their giving, they gain—a peculiar economy where the currency is compassion and the dividends, divine. With each act of kindness, their own spirits soar, self-esteem kindles like a flame, whispering through the shadows that what they do, this precious pouring out, does indeed echo into eternity. So we stand, in gratitude unending, beneath the cross’s shadow, where love meets us, volunteers, tireless and tender, the heartbeat of our church, the hands of Christ in a world weary yet wondrous. Their legacy, carved not in stone but in lives they've touched, a testament to the truth that in giving, we receive; in serving, we are served; in loving, we are forever loved. Pastor Steven G. Lee SGMC/Corps April 26, 2024