The G Master

Article 30 of 26 from the Ponder This - 2005 series

September 2005 - On my first day at Calvary 16 years ago, I was given a very special privilege. George Ahlenius entrusted me with a master key that would open every door in the church. If I recall correctly, Paul Lavenau had to talk him into it because George didn't like to part with master keys. He was right to be careful about it because anyone with a master key could go anywhere he wanted, anytime he wanted. No door remained closed to a man with the master key. A close inspection reveals a tarnished gold finish with some sort of dark residue in the indentations that run the length of the key. One side reads "Duplication Forbidden." I used to wonder what would happen if I took it to the hardware store and tried to make a copy. Would I be arrested? I'll never know. The other side has two capital letters: GM. It stands for G Master. I'm not really sure what the G stands for. I know that in a building like ours, each door has its own lock, and the keys are arranged in various series with different letters and numbers that somehow correspond to the different parts of the building. There are keys that open outside doors, keys that open inside doors, and keys that open various offices. Some keys open doors to particular classrooms. I've seen people with so many church keys that they fumble to find the one they want. I've never had that problem because I had the G Master. Years ago we called it the “God Master”� because it was the one key that opened every door. When John Sredl replaced George Ahlenius as Director of Buildings and Grounds, he was every bit as finicky about the keys, as he should be. If you need a key, John usually makes you wait a few days so you won't take it lightly. Lose a key and you are bound to get a lecture about keeping the church secure. I lost my G Master at least once, and I got the lecture from John. To this day, very few people have a G Master, which is how it should be since building security is so important. For 16 years, I've never had to worry because I could enter any part of the church any time I wanted. In a day or two, I will turn it in and eventually someone else will have it. That's how it is with keys and churches. Someone had the G Master before me and someone will have it after me. For 16 years it's been my honor to open doors for the wonderful people of Calvary. But I don't feel sad about giving up my G Master. The keys to the church never really belonged to me in the first place.