Deuteronomy 6:9
Complete Jewish Bible
(CJB)
9 and write them on the door-frames of your house and on your gates.
When I graduated from high school, Dad expected me to earn
my way through college. The first two summers I worked as a student colporteur.
This was probably the hardest work I ever did. My first summer, I worked in
Mufulira in Zambia with my best childhood friend, John Raitt. He was an old
hand at this and spent a day training me and then was around for the rest of
the summer to encourage me, answer my questions, and provide support. He owned
a motorbike, so we could get out and see and do things on weekends, etc. The
second summer I worked alone in Ndola, Zambia.
Christianity was at its very lowest ebb in my life those two
summers. So, unlike John, I had no real spiritual experience to buoy me up.
Christ was only real to me as an unforgiving, accusing judge who was waiting to
burn me up and rid the world of my bad influence. It was another whole year
before I met Christ as a wonderful, loving, caring Savior.
The conference had both full-time colporteurs and student
colporteurs. The full-timers had a number of perks that students did not. We
were not allowed to sell the most popular, money-maker volumes, in case we
undercut the full-timers. Student colporteurs had a contract that stipulated a
combination of a certain total number of hours canvassing and a certain
monetary value of books sold. If we met both criteria, then our college
expenses were met by our earnings. If we only partially fulfilled the criteria,
then the amount paid to the college was prorated accordingly.
We were required to work methodically from door to door, not
missing a single home in our assigned region in the city. Once in a while I
would come to a home with a mezuzah attached to the door-frame of a house. It
contained a parchment with several verses from the Jewish Bible and was
attached there as prescribed by this text from Deuteronomy. At such a house I
was usually met with a very cold reception, most probably because of my preconceived,
fatalistic attitude, and I never made a sale there.
Since that time I have come to know a number of Jews
personally; I have stayed in their homes and eaten at their tables. We have
shared our life and faith experiences with each other and respected the
challenges we each face.
Maybe we don’t have portions of God’s instructions
physically attached to our door posts or gates, but we would do well to think
about them as we come and go.
Our God, thank You for
loving and caring for us and encouraging us to remember You even in the simple
things like walking into or out of our doors.
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