Out of Nowhere

I sat next to a young man in a bus today. I was on my way to my sister's house for a long overdue visit. I think I last saw her at Christmas last year. So, this young man couldn't have been more than 28 years old. He had a pack of miraa (khat), some groundnuts, water and a serious look on his face. He tried to make light conversation with me before embarking on his plan for the rest of the trip home. I took my Bible from my rucksack and read Proverbs 24, then closed it and started meditating on a verse that spoke about the strength possessed by a man with knowledge.

My neighbor asked me to share what I had just read with him and I obliged him and briefly spoke about the idea of wisdom and strength. He then began to narrate to me a brief history of his life, complete with his disappointments with the church. Here was a man who was using what most of us call a drug, and who hinted at previous use of cannabis. The very same person was challenging me on the importance of reading the Bible deeply and reading in between the lines. He also spoke about the way people who are not Christians look down on Christians especially when we try to share the Gospel with them.

As he spoke, I was tempted to judge him and to give him a good sermon on keeping our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit. It was at this point that I realized that I was not very different from him. I also do my hidden things, but he does them openly. I exhibit public victories and am condemned by my private failures. He has his victories and failures out for all to see, something I go to great expense to avoid.

I was most intrigued by his statement, that God would not judge us as we would expect judgement to be passed on us. While we focus on 'big sins' like murder and sexual immorality, he claimed that God would ask us why we didn't help the hungry child asking us for money to buy bread with. I listened for most of the trip and am now busy thinking through the words this man shared. We may always expect God to speak through the people we recognize as being anointed, but God also speaks to us sometimes.....Out of Nowhere!