An Unexpected Adventure...

On Friday, Megan and I walked to the music store downtown to get new strings for my 12-string guitar (which let me tell you, costs an unpleasant sum of money!). As we were on our way, we passed an alley that we knew had a really cool staircase kind of thing around a corner. We detoured from our path to go take pictures together on the cool staircase (ghetto pictures are always the best, and Megan goes back to college in a few days, so the adventure would make perfect summer pictures.) Little did we know of the real adventure we would find in the alley…

As soon as we had approached the staircase, a man walked out from behind a corner. His walk was brisk and he reached us before we had time to make a move. We were sheltered from the view of the road, so it was just Megan, me, and this stranger. Megan and I were shoulder to shoulder when he said, “Give me all your money—both of you!” Before he finished his sentence he had a pistol raised to the level of our heads as he continued approaching. It all happened in a split second—it was SO fast! He just popped up and already had us cornered with a gun leveled at our heads, all before we were able to do a thing. But you know what? To have been scared would have been going against who I really am—a child of God, property of the Kingdom, and the temple of the Holy Ghost. Just one believer (in the midst of anything!) is ALWAYS the majority; one believer ALWAYS has the “upper hand” against anything of this broken world. So I took hold of these truths and was able to, by the grace of God, act upon it without even second guessing myself. Praise God!

I spoke the first words that came to mind, “Megan, get behind me— NOW.” She took a slight diagonal step back behind me. The stranger then proceeded to level the gun at MY forehead, just about a foot from my flesh, as he repeated his command. Then God just took over and started speaking through me—things I never would have thought to say!

I spoke very slowly… “Sir, I will give you all of my money. [Pause] I know full well that you want my money… and I know that you feel like you need it. [Pause] I don’t know what you need it for—maybe it’s to support a habit… or to put some food in your stomach…. or to feed your family…. or to make a payment on something… or to get something special… or just to make you feel like somebody. But sir, I want to tell you that you ARE somebody… you are amazing; and I love you.”

I COULD NOT BELIEVE I had just said that! His posture softened, although his arm was not lowered; his face remained as hard and blank as a stone. I continued….

“I’m sure you have tried to make a name for yourself—tried to be somebody…. but you feel hopeless. But let me tell you…. you are not on this earth by chance. You may feel like a small fish swimming against the current, but that is not the truth about you—you just aren’t seeing the full picture.”

His pistol lowered to his waist, and was redirected to aim at my torso. His face softened and seemed very confused. Then he spoke gruffly, “What the f*** is this? [Brief Pause] Just give me the d*** money.”

I nodded, and reached into my bilum (a purse/bag); my fingers first touched my teargas— and with that my flesh leaped inside of me and said, “Great! It’ll be defense.” But the Spirit said, “No, just love.” Oh bummer… in a wink of an eye there was a huge battle within me. But I grabbed my wallet, and reasoned with myself, “I have made it this far, why spoil it all now? Grace always wins.” The words of Jesus to Peter came to mind, “those who live by the sword die by the sword.” Alright God, Your will be done. But You have GOT to direct this.

As I got my wallet out and started thumbing through it, I began talking once more. “God loves you and values you so much that He created you with the purpose of receiving His best for you. He wants to fill you up—so that you are completely satisfied—so that you will never need a “fix” of anything ever again. He wants to give you treasures that no valuables of this earth can contend with. [Pause] He created you. He loves you. He wants you for Himself. He delights in you. He thinks you are amazing and valuable. You don’t need valuables to make yourself feel like you are somebody, because the God that made the Heavens thinks you already ARE somebody. All He wants you to do is stop trying to make it by your own accord, but just allow Him to love you and give you all that He has in store for you. [Pause] Is that what you want too?”

As I finished my last sentence I handed him all the money from my wallet. After doing so I was suddenly made aware that Megan was with me also (I had forgotten!), she handed me all the money that she had apparently taken from her wallet as well. Adda girl, Mae! When I handed him Megan’s money, he received it also but bowed his head, covered his face with his hands (one holding the wad of bills and the other holding the pistol) and he began to sob. Slowly he turned and began walking away from us. Before doing so, though, I grabbed my Bible out of my bilum, and gave it to him as well. He nodded in gratitude, stuck the pistol in the belt of his pants, pocketed the money, put the Bible under one arm, and then used the other hand to wipe the tears from his face, as he turned and walked away.

My final words as he was walking away were, “Thank you for talking with us, Sir. You have a good day and God bless!”

Now reader, you decide. Is Christianity something we do when we hand out a tract at wal-mart, or it is something that is supposed to flow from who we are, even in the tough times? Does Christianity mean we shove the message of the Cross down everybody’s throat, even when the soil may not be ready for it? Are we really supposed to be the one sticking up for ourselves, or it is always supposed to be about loving the other person? I personally feel that the seed sown in this man's heart on Friday is going to be more of the Gospel message than he can probably get from the lives of a hundred “church Christians” that try to get him to pray the “sinner’s prayer.” Evangelism isn’t about getting someone to pray a prayer or to tell you they believe in Jesus. Evangelism is about sharing the Kingdom of God with the broken people of this world. Heck, isn’t that exactly what Jesus did? Praise God. :)

And, just to let you know. This is NOT a true story. No part of this actually happened. I just wrote it because I believe this may be how God wants the Church to act on an everyday basis. And I think it is possible! How amazing would it be if EVERY Christian lived like this all the time? Wow, I sure am challenged. :)

“By your love, all men will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:35