There are some nice things about growing up in a small town. One of them was Jimmy the milkman!

Jimmy the milkman was 300 years old, it seemed to us kids. Driving his combination UPS / Ice cream looking truck (long before there ever was a UPS) he’d cruise around town and deliver milk to everyone’s house. In my zero crime village (ok, there was that eggs dropped on the cop car incident!) this was an era where some folks would give Jimmy an extra key to their house, if they locked their doors at all (WE rarely did!) While folks were at work he’d come in and the milk would magically appear in the refrigerator when you got home. If nothing else, there was always that handy-dandy industrial strength milk box out on the porch, good for LOTS of things besides milk (heh heh).

I “kid” you not, that was the kind of town I grew up in, and that was the kind of guy Jimmy was. Many a summer day we’d head on over to Grandma’s house and rock patiently on the porch swings. Why? Because Jimmy the milkman would have an afternoon route and he’d come down the street and ring his bell. Then we’d all run out there and Jimmy would stop and give all the kids half a stick of gum, usually Juicy Fruit. We’d all sing his praises, he was our hero (sound just a little familiar? I don’t remember the song, but maybe it went Jimmy, Jimmy, he’s the best…!) Everyone loved Jimmy the milkman, and I think my dad used to get gum from him when he was a kid himself.

My dad told me once Jimmy got in a lot of trouble with his company, which we kids found hard to believe. The man was so kindly, friendly, generous, always smiling. But apparently he was delivering milk to someone shortly after WWII and the woman was bragging how she had never run short of sugar. You see, she had horded it up and didn’t share with anyone else, not even her next door neighbors! Jimmy wouldn’t deliver her any more milk, no matter how much she complained to the milk company. But the town people loved Jimmy (and everyone hates a hoarder!) so regardless of what was “legal” eventually the company had someone else bring her milk to her until she passed away. Her acts of selfishness made her someone folks remembered for years – unkindly.

The other day Jan Chetelat was mentioning honey at the Dugas’ home bible study and we recalled the story about Saul and Jonathan. If you know the story, while Jonathan “broke the law” he was loved by the people and they saved him from the consequences. They showed mercy on him, so in spite of what he deserved forgiveness was extended and the punishment was taken away.

Consider in like manner the grace of the son of God, who allowed God’s mercy to be extended to us even though we deserve dire consequences. What beautiful stories of love.

But is that punishment and scorn simply gone forever? I think I know where it ends up. What about the hoarder, who was in “the right” yet ungenerous and uncaring. We are given so much, but if we refuse to share it with others because we can’t be bothered, well, “Sin – it does a body bad.”

Randy