A Guy Named Walter
A Guy Named Walter
My family used to be members of a local church community that owns a great big piece of land that is largely open field. We’d owned the property for some time and had kept it well maintained long before constructing the current church building that sits on it.
But somewhere between when our church bought that piece of land and when we began building on the property, there was a guy named Walter who also happened upon the land. Seeing the wide open, well maintained field, he thought to himself, “This would be the perfect place for me to practice my golf stroke!” And so, he started driving up onto that piece of property and setting up flags; and just about every morning, he’d be out there in that field, hitting golf balls.
Eventually, our church began construction on the property, much to Walter’s dismay. And once our new church building was finished, we moved into it as a church family and started meeting there every Sunday morning and at various times throughout the week.
Nevertheless, Walter continued to show up on our property each morning to practice his golf swing. Not only did Walter refuse to stop playing golf out in our field, but he acted as if we were the ones trespassing on his land, because he was there first.
This went on for another ten years, give or take. Just about every day of the week (even on Sundays), Walter came out and played golf in our field, because he believed our field belonged to him. He even mowed parts of it (using the church lawn mower) from time to time, when the grass got too high for his golf game.
Of course, several members from our church invited Walter to join us for worship services over the years, and some even tried to share the Good News of Jesus with him; but Walter wasn’t interested. He had a different reason for being there.
And God forbid that our church community would have ever grown so large that we’d need to build a second or larger building, because Walter would’ve been in for a rude awakening if we ever used the land to its fullest potential for its intended purpose — to be a meeting place for followers of Jesus in our city. Walter would have been put out, quite literally.
As outlandish as it might seem, this is a true story. But it’s actually not that outlandish at all. In fact, most churches have Walters of their own — probably even yours.
The reality is, there are many* in our churches today who believe they hold heavenly land, because they showed up one day and staked their claim. But they have no idea what it takes to own it — what it costs or what it even means. And one day, there’s going to be in for a rude awakening when they find out they don’t hold claim to a heavenly thing, because it was never theirs to begin with.
Our holdings in heaven are all held in one name, and one name alone: the name of Jesus.
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going… I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” - Jesus (John 14:1-4, 6, NLT)
*If you’re reading this, and you’re realizing that you might be the Walter in your church, there’s Good News for you! The same invitation that was so-often extended to Walter by our church family while he was still an outsider and trespasser extends to you as well! But just as was true for Walter, the choice is ultimately yours to make. Will you choose to follow Jesus?
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