The Pastor’s Piece – Kevin Cernek, Pastor – FCFI Chaplain

FCFI
October 12, 2025
In this column each week you will usually find stories about everyday life as we live it. In the
mishaps and blunders, the humor usually comes after the fact. But humor is necessary to
survive. If we take ourselves too seriously, life will stress us out. They say it is the daily grind
that gives a person polish. Some of us are pretty-well shined up.
A man from the city had just moved to the farm and was out plowing his field when he got his
tractor stuck in the wet ground. A farmer driving by stops his truck and walks to the fence to call
the city guy over. “You need a mule to plow such wet ground,” he says.
“Where can I buy one?” the city guy asks.
“Well, I just happened to have one back at my place that I’ll sell for 100 dollars.”
“I’ll take him,” says the city man as he counts out the money.
“I can’t bring him over today. Is tomorrow OK?”
“Sure.”
The next day the truck pulls up and the old farmer gets out. “I’ve got bad news,” he says, “I went
out after breakfast and the mule was dead.”
The city guy says, “Well, then just give me back my money.”
But the farmer says, “I can’t, I already spent it!”
“Well, unload the mule then.”
“What are you going to do with a dead mule,” asks the farmer?
“I’ll raffle him off!”
“You can’t raffle off a dead mule!”
“Just watch me! This city feller knows a few tricks.”
A month goes by and the farmer and the city guy run into each other in town one day. “What’d
you do with that dead mule?”
“I raffled him off just like I said. I sold 100 tickets at two dollars each and made 98 dollars profit.”
“Didn’t anyone complain?”
“Just one guy, so I gave him his two dollars back!”
Most of us can sympathize with the fellow who received a call from his wife just as she was
about to fly home from Europe. “How’s my cat?” she asked. He responded, “Dead.”
“Oh, honey,” she said, “Don’t be so crass. Why didn’t you break the news to me slowly? Now
you’ve ruined my trip.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Well, you could have told me he was on the roof. And when I called you from Paris, you could
have told me he was acting sluggish. Then when I called from London, you could have said he
was sick, and when I called you from New York, you could have said he was at the vet. Then,
when I arrived home, you could have said he had passed away.”
The husband had never been exposed to such protocol but was willing to learn. “OK,” he said.
“I’ll do better next time.”
“By the way,” she asked, “How’s my Mother?”
There was a long silence, and then he replied, “Uh, she’s on the roof.”
We live in a fallen world. The curse of sin is woven into every part of our lives – every moment,
every place. It touches relationships, systems, nature, and even the deepest corners of our
hearts. Yes, God’s grace is great and He offers hope, healing, and forgiveness. But until Christ
returns, we still live under the weight of the curse. We feel it in the wars around us, the crime in
our streets, the hatred in people’s hearts, and even in something as random as a deer darting in
front of your car on the highway. All of creation is broken. All of it groans.
As Paul wrote in Romans 8: “The creation waits in eager expectation in hope that it will be
liberated from its bondage to decay.” That’s what we’re waiting for. That’s what the world aches
for. I’m looking forward to the day when Scripture says: “There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” And Jesus says:
“Behold, I am making everything new,” (Revelation 21:4–5).
That day is coming. But until it does, the only true peace we can find in this broken world is
found in Jesus Christ. He is not just a source of peace, He is the Author of Peace. In the 90th
Psalm, it says, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the
mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to
everlasting you are God.”
That tells us that God has been the dwelling place of His people in all generations. A dwelling
place is where you live, your home. God has been the home of humans ever since they have
been on the earth. Despite the passing centuries, there is no change in the need for humans to
have a relationship with God. The Bible says that God has set eternity in the heart of man. Paul
says that we will be without excuse when we stand before God because He has made Himself
known all around us. If we will just look for Him, we will find Him, because He is not far from us.
“From everlasting to everlasting you are God.” This is the greatness of God. He is the God of
history. He is the God of creation. But He is also the God of eternity. In fact, this literally means,
“From the vanishing point in the past to the vanishing point in the future” – from everlasting to
everlasting God exists. The world may be under a curse, but we are not without hope. Jesus is
coming. He is making all things new. And even now, He invites us to make our home in Him, the
only true dwelling place that will last from everlasting to everlasting.

(Kevin Cernek is Lead Pastor of Martintown Community Church in Martintown, Wisconsin).