And, behold, a certain member of the Bible class spoke up, and tempted him, saying, "Preacher, must I attend all assemblies of the church to inherit eternal life?" The preacher said unto him, "What is written in the Bible? How readest thou?" And he answering said, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:24-25).

And the preacher said unto him, "Thou hast answered right: this do, obey God and thou shalt live." But the member, willing to justify himself, said unto the preacher, "And does this include Sunday and Wednesday night?"

And the preacher answering said, "A certain man went down from Nashville to Atlanta, and it being a Wednesday night, he began to seek out a church with which he could gather, fellowship and study. And as he had no transportation, he began to call certain ones for a ride to Bible study. And by chance he called a certain elder of a near by church: and when the elder heard his request, he apologized and explained that his children had a school function that night and he himself would not be going to Bible study. And likewise a preacher of another church, when he was called, listened and heard him, and excused himself as the church there stopped having a midweek Bible study.

But as the saddened Christian was on the verge of despair, he called a certain church and got hold of lowly member cleaning the building. And as the lowly member listened, he knew right where the traveling Christian was staying. And when he heard him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bought him dinner, pouring him coffee and ice water, and set him in his own car, and brought him to the Wednesday night Bible study and introduced him to all the other members present.

And on the morrow, when the traveling Christian departed, the lowly member took some time out to take the Christian to breakfast, and gave him a hearty farewell, and said unto him, "Take care of thyself; and whenever thou come back, I will come again and I will be glad to pick thee up."

And then the preacher said, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, truly provoked unto love and to good works and exhorted him that visited from another city?" And the member said, "He that shewed mercy on him, picked him up and took him to Bible study." Then said the preacher unto him, "Go, and do thou likewise" (see Luke 10:25-37 and Heb. 10:24-25).

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 20, p. 628
October 20, 1988