The homeless man ponders, how is that those following Jesus live in nice houses and have expensive clothes, while people die in tenements “and grow up in misery and drunkenness and sin” (Sheldon 7). The homeless man then questions, what do Christians mean when they sing that they follow Jesus, but do none of the things Jesus did. He talks about the fact that the minister could not help him find a job.
In his monolog, the homeless man talks about the hardships of his life: his wife died of starvation, and his little girl is living with a printer’s family while he is looking for a job. The congregation, shocked by the sudden appearance, does not stop the man from delivering a long monolog. The man turns out to be the same homeless man who visited Maxwell two days earlier. Maxwell listens to the homeless men’s request but asks him to leave.Īt the end of the Sunday sermon, the congregation is startled by the sound of a man’s voice. That someone turns out to be a homeless man trying to find a job. In the first chapter, Maxwell is depicted preparing for an upcoming sermon when he is interrupted by someone knocking on his door. The main character of the book is a Reverend Henry Maxwell, the pastor of the First Church of Raymond. The events of this chapter prompted a wave of social reform which changed the quiet town of Raymond. The real challenge of the question, “What would Jesus do?” is not the initial fervor it evokes but the sustained devotion it can produce.The first chapter of the novel is important because it describes a major story point that affected the course of the events of the book. People in Sheldon’s story learn that acting like Jesus can alienate others who prefer status quo comfort and social respectability.
But a changed life responding to Jesus’ example of compassion and grace does not always make things easier. Those characters in Sheldon’s book who take the challenge of this question seriously live dramatically changed lives. Sheldon’s story traces the account of the fictional Reverend Maxwell who challenges himself and his congregation to constantly ask, “What would Jesus do?” This question puts all of life’s circumstances in a new light. One hundred years ago Christians read Charles Sheldon’s In His Steps with runaway enthusiasm. See also my link below for a free eBook copy. is giving away the audiobook In His Steps by Charles M.
0 kommentar(er)
