Jimmy came to school one day, excited that his uncle Lonzo had come to visit from Cherry Valley, Arkansas. Their town was in Western Tennessee. Lonzo Green, was a well known country singer, and word spread throughout the town. Jimmy’s friend wanted to meet him, but the friend was not allowed in their house. He was from the wrong side of the tracks. He was white trash.
Jimmy’s friend had gotten an old guitar and wanted to learn how to play, but did not know how to tune it. Could he come over and have Lonzo tune his guitar. Lonzo would meet him, and they would stay outside, so it was arranged that afternoon.
The shy 15-year-old showed up that afternoon, with his old battered guitar over his shoulder, held with a piece of binder twine. Lonzo had also tasted poverty, so he went out to meet the lad and told him he would tune his guitar. As he tuned the guitar he began to sing and play for the boy. A small crowd began to gather. One hour stretched into two, cars went by unnoticed, shadows began to get long and it would soon be suppertime.
Lonzo sang all afternoon. Then he taught the lad how to play a few chords and taught him how to sing a couple songs. As he sang he began to gain confidence. Jimmy’s friend bid Lonzo goodbye, and left. Lonzo never saw the boy in person again. The boy would never be shut out of any ones house again. He would appear in 33 movies, and thousands of records. The boys name was Elvis Presley.
We could talk about Lonzo Green. You probably know him as ALonzo and Oscar, and the song, “The Green-Horned Farmer.” Lonzo died last year at the age of 94. Elvis died tragically many years ago. I would like to talk about the other side of the tracks. The Bible makes it plain that under God, all men and women, and all races are equal. It seems like in the last few years things have gotten worse in our country.
People tend to associate with those of their kind. We have Italian neighborhoods, generally well to do live in one neighborhood, and poor in another. We Methodists generally associate with other Methodists, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be accepting of each other. That doesn’t mean necessarily that we need more diversity.
Many years ago a savior came. He was rejected by his own people. He went to the extreme of sacrificing his own life, and still is rejected by many people. He is loving and patient and willing to accept anyone who will come to him. Time has a way of speeding by and the time to make a decision is now. Today is the day of salvation.
