Where Can I find Jesus? [Main St]

This week was a week full of abnormal interactions, starting with Jay, the 27 year old girl who was going through more suffering than I ever care to encounter. Most of these encounters occurred at the bookstore which is why I like that job so much. I encounter people from all walks of life with any and all kinds of “Christian” theology. Saturday I met a man who had previously been an evangelical, then a fundamentalist, and now after ‘being mentored by CS Lewis,’ has decided to be Catholic. I didn’t really want to talk to this man because while so easily swayed by man’s wisdom he seemed very dogmatic and un-swayed in what he thought to be truth. I asked him what made him change his thoughts on religion. He explained that it was after much reading. He read CS Lewis and many other reformed protestant theologians and somehow came to the conclusion they were all wrong in areas and decided he should become Catholic. This was a reminder to me that the wisdom of man, even wise men does not compare with the power of Scripture and sound doctrine. After taking in Scripture, the Holy Spirit gives knowledge and discernment so that we can approve what is excellent and true, making us pure and filling us with the fruit of righteousness; this only comes from God, not men.
Later the same day as the store was filled with people a man walked into the store wearing a large wooden cross around his neck and a large African smile on his face. Without even glancing around the store he came directly up to me and asked me in his cool South African accent “Where can I find Jesus?” I was caught completely off guard and my mind went completely blank wondering if this man was serious or not because he did not have the demeanor of a man that was really seeking what he was asking for. Being surprised at the question I nervously said that Jesus was in Heaven with the Father. He immediately followed with “Well, how can I find this father?” I asked if he was serious and he adamantly said “yes, I asked you a question for you to answer, so now you will give me an answer. You say Jesus is in Heaven with the Father. How can I find the father?” I quoted Jesus saying He was the only way to the father. The man fired back “Well how can I find Jesus?” Thinking I had just done some circular reasoning, I backed up and elaborated the simple Gospel of how we had sinned, messing up God’s perfect creation and Christ paid for that sin and we have to put our faith and trust in Him. It was such a weird conversation in which there were more pointed questions that I felt I should have had a better and more concise answer for. After a couple questions I was more relaxed and I felt it turned more into a casual conversation than a pop quiz that I wasn’t prepared for. I asked if I was adequately answering his questions and if he had a Bible that could more thoroughly answer his questions. He said I was the only scripture that he had at the moment and only I knew if I was giving him good answers. He said “You say are a Christian, you should know what the Bible says in order to answer my questions.” By this point a friend had joined in on the questioning and by his comments I gathered the man I had been talking to was a well read believer who was more or less probing to see what doctrine I believed. I wondered if I was part of a survey of some kind and if my answers were being recorded. The conversation deteriorated into questions like “Why do we sell books that contain heresy in them?” and “Which version of the bible is the ‘best’ of all the ones we sell?” At that point I had to welcome some other customers and help them find some fiction book, probably filled with bad theology in story form. The whole interaction with the man was very random and uncomfortable. I said goodbye and the men left the store without even browsing around. After uncomfortable situations I always think of how I could have better handled them or made them more comfortable. It made me wonder how ready am I to always give an answer for the faith I have; even when I’m not expecting it. I mused over the gospel again and again in my head throughout the rest of my shift.
After work I headed downtown to meet some friends visiting from out of town for dinner. I sat on a bench and read my email while I waited for them to get lost while driving around to find a parking garage. A less than privileged man approached me and introduced himself as Rick and sat down next to me. I gave him half my attention and continued to read my email. He said “I’m not racist, but you ‘white folks’ enjoy the expletive weekend.” Well, it did seem rather racist and I asked why he wasn’t enjoying his weekend. He rambled for a minute and then said he wasn’t gunna lie, he just wanted some money for a beer. I laughed at this point and said I liked his honesty and that most people who walk up to me like he did just give me some sob story and tell me they need gas money or money for food or something. We made small chat for another minute and I handed him the two dollars I had saying I liked his honesty. Since it was on my mind, I asked him if he knew Jesus. He said he did, and I asked him what that meant to him. He gave some Sunday school answer about how Jesus died for our sins; then he admitted it didn’t mean much to him. He asked why I was a Christian and I told him that after trying many things, Christ was the only thing that satisfied my soul and gave me joy. Then Rick surprised me again, he said “so if you died, you know for sure that you would go to heaven?” I thought the evangelizer was supposed to ask that question, but overall I was glad he brought it up. I confidently said I did, then asked him the same. He said he wasn’t sure what would happen. At this point Rick opened a window into his life. He explained that he was racing one night and lost control of his car and crashed. He ended up ok but the crash killed his 1 year old daughter. His family still hates him for it and will never forgive him. After that incident he went to church a lot and always tried to do good and even gave out literature for the church. After a while it didn’t seem to help and so he went back to his old way of life. I told him that God can forgive us for anything we have done and that God’s own son had paid for our sins and that it wasn’t anything we could do- good deeds or passing out literature- it was a gift! He asked if I still sinned. I laughed and said yes, but God has changed my desires and I don’t want to sin against Him. He said, “So you don’t want to have sex?” I laughed and said I do, but only with my wife, because that’s the way God set it up. After asking what I do when I sin, he said “So you can sin but its ok as long as you ask forgiveness each time?” I explained that it pains God when we sin and that He has given me a new heart with new desires and that I want to live to please God and act more like Jesus, living for others and not myself. By now I had a few missed calls, a voicemail and some text messages from my friends who had finally made their way into downtown, but I considered my conversation with Rick more pertinent. He wanted to let me go but asked that I pray for him. I said well let’s pray. As we sat there I prayed for him. I prayed that God would break into Rick’s life and show him Christ and forgiveness, that his family would be able to forgive him, that Rick would be able to forgive himself, and that God would change Rick’s heart, then ended asking that he would enjoy his weekend.
As I walked to meet my friends, I thanked God for the interaction He threw my way. The whole conversation flowed naturally and I could feel Gods presence. Although he didn’t pray, it was a great discussion about grace and forgiveness and what it meant to be a Christian. I knew that the awkward conversation I’d had in the bookstore had mentally prepared me for the casual one I had with Rick downtown. I thanked God for his providence and funny way of reminding me of the gospel and for the way he truly cares about people like Rick. Its only by His grace and changing my heart that I cared to listen. Rick wanted a beer; I wanted to talk about Jesus, something way better, so I did.