I will probably have nightmares for a few weeks after a conversation I had today. I never got the man's name I talked to, but my heart is deeply impacted by our 30-45 minute chat. I am still not sure exactly what happened, to be honest, it came out of nowhere.
I had just walked into Half Price Books to look at what they had on the shelves. I was looking for a particular Bible, but they didn't have it. Nonetheless, as I was squatting to look at the lower shelves, a middle-aged man walked up behind me and simply asked, "What do you have to do to become a Christian?" I was really caught off-guard by the abrupt nature of the question, so I asked a dumb question, "What do you mean?" So he repeated himself with a slightly different question, "How do I become a Christian?" And he just looked at me.
I was unsure at this point if the question was genuine or if this was someone just testing a young man at the Bible section of Half Price Books. So I told him it's really all about believing in Jesus and following him. He pulled out his phone and told me he had been to church 352 times and talked to over 6000 people about God and he hadn't gotten anything yet. He said he had read the Bible several times and never got anything (I believe him because he quoted several different things to me). I asked if he had ever prayed, and he said he wasn't going to pray to something that didn't exist.
So I asked him what he was looking for. He simply stated, "Truth." So, for clarification, I asked, "And you haven't found that in the Bible?" He said, "No." So I asked him if he understood what he was reading. He nodded his head, as a "yes." Then came the onslaught of what I assume to be a result of his encounters with Christians.
The first statement out of his mouth was how unfriendly Christians were. My heart broke to hear that statement. I sympathized, saying, "I can see how you could feel that way. Where all have you gone to church?" He rattled off several different denominations, and areas of Houston. I asked if he lived in the area, and he said he lived a couple blocks down the road. He asked me where I was from. I told him I grew up on the other side of Houston and have lived in Spring for the past 7 years. He asked me where I went to church, and I told him I went to Northside Christian Church. He asked me if it was independent, and I told him it was.
He obviously has some knowledge because he said we split off from the Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ. He related it to the Trinity, which he said neither he nor we (Christians) could really understand. I told him it was a difficult concept to understand, but we were talking about God here. The conversation never quite got back around to God, but went straight to the church and the people in the Church. With every statement, I became more and more uncomfortable; I became more and more heart-broken. What is the Church doing?
He asked me what I was looking for. I told him I was looking for a Bible to replace the one I had given someone else. He asked me who I gave it to, and I told him. He asked me if I would have given it to someone I didn't know. I said I would. He asked me if I would have given it to a homeless person if they had asked for it. Of course I would. I knew at that point he was trying to pin something on me, trying to fit me into his box labeled "Christian."
He mentioned more than once that I was friendlier than most of the Christians he had ever met, which I suppose was somewhat of a consolation prize. But he also said more than once that all Christians are alike. I told him he really shouldn't lump everyone who calls themselves Christian into a category like that. He said that's what Christians do, they put everyone into a category. Wow!
Then he hit on the truth of the matter. Christians are materialistic. Christians don't have any time to give anyone else. Pastors are all about money and sex. He asked me if God was #1 in my life, and I told him yes. He asked me if I was materialistic. I told him I didn't think of myself that way, but I had plenty of nice stuff. He said more than once that the hearse can't pull a U-haul. I agreed with him. He told me he asked lots of people if they believed in God 100%, and they would say yes. Then he asked if they lost everything they had would they still believe in God, and they tell him they think they would. He couldn't see the logic.
I told him that my wife and I have not been able to have children. We really want children, but we just haven't been able to. I told him I still believe in God 100%. I might be upset with our situation, but I know He is still God. He mentioned that there were lots of kids out there that need parents. I told him we were in the process to adopt two of them right now. He said, "That's good, just make sure you take care of them. Don't abuse your kids. Christians abuse kids." Ouch!
He kept going with how all Christians were alike. I asked him if I was like all those other Christians he knew. He said he would have to pick my brain for 3-4 hours, and he would be able to tell who I really was. He said, "But Christians don't like to give up their time, do they." I told him time was pretty difficult to give up in our society. He asked if I would give up 4-5 hours to sit and talk with him. I told him I would. I would just want to call my wife and let her know where I was. He asked, "What if she says no, she wants you to come home?" I said, "In that case, I'd ask if I could setup another time for us to get together to talk." He persisted, "What if she said no even though we were going to be talking about God and looking at the Bible?" I said, "She's my wife, and if she really wants me to come home, I'd honor her and ask you to setup another time to meet." So he went over the top, "What if you got home and she told you she wanted you to forget about God." I told him, "It's not going to happen." I guess he thought he had proved a point because he said, "Yeah you would, you just answered my question. Go ahead and find your Bible and get out of here." And he walked away.
Dumbfounded, I stood there trying to figure out what just happened. But after reflecting on the whole situation, I know he didn't want to hear about God, he wanted to see someone living out the whole idea of following Jesus. None of us are perfect, which he may not have understood. However, what are we doing in the church that I am friendlier than most Christians? Seriously?
There were a few other things we talked about, but this man had been hurt by the Church. Surely, some of the responsibility was on his own shoulders as he seemed to be picking a fight, looking for an argument, but still...is the Church as materialistic as the world? Is the Church as greedy with their time as the world? Is the Church really a bunch of hypocrites? Have we made following Jesus so easy that we don't actually have to live like him, and we can still don the label of a Christian? My heart hurts. I am thankful that this man walked up to me today. Even if he thinks I am just like his idea of Christians. It was a test for me. It was a wake-up for me. Why is it so important for us to know the Bible? Why is it so important for us to apply biblical truths to the way we live? Why is it so important for us to lean on each other as we walk through life with Jesus?
Maybe he will walk up to you next time. What will you have to say? How will you react? Will you have the time for him? Will you look like Jesus?
