By Todd E. Brady
Vice president for university ministries, Union University, Jackson
Todd Brady
I came home Saturday morning with my Ebenezer. It now sits displayed on the shelf for all to see and hear the story of what it represents.
After the Lord “thundered a mighty sound” against the Philistines and defeated them, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said; ‘Till now the LORD has helped us.’ ” (I Samuel 7:12)
In the Bible, “Ebenezer” means “stone of help.” Every time an Israelite saw the stone erected by Samuel, he had a tangible reminder of the Lord’s power and protection. The “stone of help” marked the location where God was at work.
I have always been able to point to times and people whom God used in my life, but now I have my very own Ebenezer in my house.
I recently put on a ball cap, bundled up for the cold weather, and went across town to attend an Estate Sale. This favorite Saturday morning ritual often yields trinkets and personal treasures that can’t be found at Walmart. As she always does, my wife said as I was heading out the door, “Don’t bring home any junk.”
After rummaging through the tools and everything else outside, I waited in line to go inside the home. Once inside, I started looking around. I kept my eyes open for old clocks, old books and old artwork.
On my way out, I noticed a brick sitting on a desk. I’m usually not interested in solitary bricks, but curiosity made me pick it up. I immediately noticed felt tips on the bottom and knew that this wasn’t just any old brick. On one side, the couple who no longer lived there had affixed a small plaque to the brick. It read, “West Jackson Baptist Church, 259 West Deaderick, Jackson, TN.” As I stood and stared at the brick, memories started flooding my mind.
This brick was from the place where those ladies went who reached out to my mother and shared the gospel with us. As a result my family was saved and we started going to that church.
This brick was from that place where I was baptized.
This brick was from that place where I sang songs like “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
This brick was from that place where I learned about the things of God in Sunday School.
This brick was from that place where the youth group met, and the youth choir sang.
This brick was from that place where adults poured into me and showed me what godliness looked like.
This brick was from that place where I found God — or maybe it’s better to say, where God found me.
This brick now sits on a shelf in my home. It was once a part of the building where I first went to church. That building was torn down not too long ago, and the people of that church now meet in another building across town.
The significance of that brick on my shelf is not that it was merely part of a church building. The church is not made of bricks or stones. Instead, it is made up of people who are “living stones” who “are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood” (I Peter 2:5).
That brick doesn’t represent the activities that took place there or even the people who attended there. Instead, when I look at that brick, I am reminded of what God did in my life during those teenage years.
I shudder to think of where I might be if God had not helped me then.
For years, I’ve sung with the saints, “Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I’m come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home.”
That brick means the world to me. It is a physical object reminding me of what God has done in my life. B&R
