Maybe you can think of a time when a piece of God's word popped into your mind right when you were going through something tragic or terrific. Just the right scripture was suddenly in your heart even though your Bible was not open in front of you. Maybe it was something you hadn't thought of for a long time.
My friend, Mark, recently told me the story of something that happened to him. You see Mark is a pastor too. One of his members asked him to go and visit a relative in the hospital. Things weren't looking good for this man. All Mark knew of him was that his parents had brought him to church and Sunday School as a boy. He had seemed like he was on the right path.
Then he grew up. Life got busy. Things changed. He had some things go wrong for him. He took comfort in the bottle. Then he realized that the alcohol was controlling him, but he kept losing those battles with himself. He wanted nothing to do with God. He got sick of his family's "harping" about religion. He had enough problems to deal with. He was fine on his own.
Then, the doctors told him that he wasn't fine. His body was shot. He didn't have much more time here. That's when his family had called my friend. So, Mark went to visit him - not sure what he was going to say to this man who had previously wanted nothing to do with him or church or God.
Mark walked into that hospital room and the man started first. He said, "Pastor, I don't know why but all day I've been thinking about something I remember from a long time ago. This has been going through my head." Then he proceeded to recite some words of a hymn he had memorized in his Sunday School classroom and sung with his friends at church.
"Jesus, your blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress
Mid flaming worlds in these arrayed
With joy shall I lift up my head.
Bold shall I stand in that great day
Who can a word against me say?
Fully through you absolved I am
From sin and fear from guilt and shame."
And then he continued and recited all six verses. Long ago, he had rejected God. But God never rejected him, and those words remained true - God reminded him of those words when he needed it most. Those words were in his heart because his parents had cared enough to take the time and effort of bringing him to Sunday School. He was ready to go home to his savior because he wasn't dressed in his own deeds, but in Jesus' blood that paid for his sins and yours, in Jesus' perfection that he credits to us.
Sunday School works. Learning God's word works. Think of where you'll find comfort when you need it most. How about your children? It's time to prepare for your lifetime of ups and downs, your lifetime of needing God and his comfort and his promises.
Get into his word now. The new year of Sunday School starts September 9. Call 770-385-7691 to register yourself and your children now. You never know when you'll need it. Here is Paul's advice to his son-in-the-faith Timothy:
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:14-17).