A
Living Bible
His name is Bill.
He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in
it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for
his entire
four years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of esoteric
and very, very
bright. He became a Christian while attending college.
Across the street from the campus is a
well-dressed, very
conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the
students,
but are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides
to go there.
He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild
hair. The
service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle
looking
for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can't
find a seat.
By now people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one
says
anything.
Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the
pulpit and, when he
realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the
carpet.
(Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship,
trust
me, this had never happened in this church before!)
By now the people are really uptight, and the
tension in the air is
thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way
at the back
of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward
Bill. Now the
deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a
three-piece
suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very
courtly. He
walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy,
everyone is
saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going
to
do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his
background to
understand some college kid on the floor?
It takes a long time for the man to reach the
boy. The church is
utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's
cane. All eyes are
focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing.
The minister
can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to
do.
Then they see this elderly man drop his cane
on the floor. With
great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and
worships with him so he won't be alone.
Everyone chokes up with emotion. When
the minister gains control,
he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never
remember. What you
have just seen, you will never forget. Be careful how you
live. You
may be the only Bible some people will ever read."
