I don't know what came over me. I was working with a guy I hadn’t worked with for a long while. But every time we work together, somehow, our conversation turns ever so serious. And for some reason he feels comfortable enough to confide in me. So it was, Tuesday the Twenty Eighth of October, that the Lord poured out His spirit in the Container Store.
The day started off anomalous. On Tuesdays I usually work with my friend Michael. And for those couple of hours we have more fun than any two people should at their Job. However, This Tuesday we were starting storage displacement to make way for all of our Christmas items. Needing more people to work than usual, I was pared up with this certain individual. As we were working, he asked me if I wanted to hear a crude joke about a pirate. I said NO. Then amiably started to say, " If I wanted to hear a crude joke about a pirate then I would have walked up to you and said, Hey! Tell me a joke about a pirate." He noticed the unmistakable agitated tone in my voice, and questioned my response. I was at the point where I was done. I was tired of hearing the "F" word like it’s an article, people talking about Porn, and just the overall tone of the world in my ear. Soon after, we some how segue way into the topic of death. He talked about his friend who recently died and I talked about my friends who have died. The conversation had turned all too grim. After his comment of now being depressed, and our agreement that tomorrow is promised to know man, there was an almost awkward feel to the air. The uneasiness of the atmosphere led to an explosion of scientific thought.
" Isn't it weird that right now we are floating in space? That we are on a planet, spinning, yet we are able to stand still on earth? And isn't it weird that we are the exact distance away from the sun that we aren’t freezing or burning up right now?" and so he said, yeah, I guess that is weird. A quick pause of thought led to curiosity." are you religious?" “ Yes I am. Well actually, no. I wouldn’t describe myself as a religious person. I think there is a definite limit in its definition.” I started to explain to him how religion is working for something. The person is trying to earn salvation; trying to earn grace. The dependence of Heaven Lies strictly on the person, and why would I… why would anyone want to take that on themselves? I walked him through various religions: what they believe and explained to him how they are all works oriented. “ Religion of the Law screams responsibility whereas a Relationship say, Just Respond. And in responding to God you will do far more than you ever would under religion.” (Jon Courson- loosely translated) He then asked me what I was. “ I’m a Christian!” He couldn’t believe it. A Christian? I could all of a sudden feel the store grow tense. I would have backed off but I wasn’t about to leave him without offering him hope. I told him the hope that lies in me. The work is done; the price has been paid. I am no longer under law but under grace.
All of this being said, please pray for him. It seems as though the Lord is trying to get his attention.
