YOU CAN'T COME IN - YOU'RE TOO DIRTY

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. People were filling the
church to its fullest capacity! As they entered, each were
given a bulletin filled with announcements, topic of today's
sermon, what songs they would sing and who to pray for.
At the end of the line stood an older man. His clothes were
filthy and you could tell that he had not bathed in days. His
face was covered in whiskers where he had not shaved
for a very long time.
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When he reached the usher, he removed his tattered old brown
hat in respect. His hair was a long, dirty, tangled mess. He
had no shoes on his feet, and wore only soiled, black socks.
>
The usher put his fingers to his nose and glared at the old
man and said, "Uh, I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid we can't let
you in. You will distract the congregation and we don't allow
anyone to disrupt our service. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."
>
The old man looked down at himself and with a puzzled look
on his face, he placed his old brown hat back upon his head
and turned to leave. He was sad as he loved to hear the choir
sing praises to the Lord. He loved to watch the little children
get up in front of the church to sing their little songs. He
carried in his pocket a small worn out Bible and loved to see
if the minister preached a passage from the Bible that the old
man had underlined. He was respectful enough and didn't
want to cause any commotion, so he hung down his head
and walked back down the steps of the big brick church.
>
He sat down on the brick wall near the edge of the church
yard and strained to listen through closed doors and windows
to the singing going on in the church. Oh how he wished he
could be inside with all the others.
>
A few minutes had passed by when all of a sudden a younger
man came up behind him and sat down near him. He asked
the old man what he was doing.
>
He answered, "I was going to go to church today, but they
thought I was filthy and my clothes are old and worn, and they
were afraid I would disrupt their service. Sorry, I didn't introduce
myself. My name is George."
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The two gentlemen shook hands and George couldn't help
but notice that this man had long hair like his. He wore a piece
of cloth draped over his body tied with a royal purple sash. He
had sandals upon his feet, now covered with dust and dirt.
>
The stranger reached out to touch George's shoulder and
said, "Hello, George, don't feel bad because they won't let
you in. My name is Jesus, and I've been trying to get into
this same church for years, and they won't let me in either."

Author Unknown