A Chain of Faithfulness
© 1997 Don Rogers
The elderly man spoke. "I was taken to Sunday school by my mother. We met in the afternoon in those days. I liked it. One Sunday I found out that there was a pupil in the school who had a perfect attendance record that stretched for five years. He had an attendance badge and medal additions to it for each year. I decided that I was going to get me a record that would be five times that long. I was going to have perfect attendance for twenty-five years.
"You know that you are excused if you are genuinely ill. But if you are out-of-town you have to get a note telling of your attendance. In college I was asked to be a part of a singing group that would go to various churches. I agreed with the one condition, I would be in Sunday school somewhere every Sunday. They agreed.
"Now I'm a member of the John Wesley class in this church. Some Sundays I teach. Other Sundays I help out in other ways. I was there this morning before I came in here to talk to you. I made my twenty-five year goal. In fact (at that point he opened what had the appearance of an over-sized tie box that had been resting on his lap) I've made it to 75 and am still going."
He lifted out of the box a long long chain of attendance medals attached to the original pin, a chain of faithfulness.