The Everyday Club

1/14/09 Chris, about 35
Marty and I paid a visit to Home Depot, where we found a man named Chris deep in thought, looking at the bottom shelf in the plumbing isle. I gave him a million dollar tract and began asking him some of the questions on the back, hoping to start a conversation. He didn't respond for an awkward length of time, but suddenly put everything down and stood up to give me his full attention. He is a Polish immigrant and a Catholic, at first believing himself to be "good enough" for heaven. However, when his sin was made more obvious with exposure to some of the Ten Commandments he grasped the only hope he had left - the mercy assured to him by his priest during confession. I asked if that would work in a human courtroom - would a judge ignore justice and let a criminal go free just because he confesses his guilt? Chris grew silent at this and as I explained that God is also a judge who will not ignore justice. About this time Chris' business partner or coworker showed up, insisting that they get going, so my message was cut short. Afterward, I wondered why Chris grew silent toward the end of the conversation. Was there more of a language barrier than I realized? Was he being politely quiet, hoping I would finish with what I had to say? Was he totally confused? The doubter in me would say one of these things but Marty thought Chris seemed to have a look of conviction on his face. Maybe the law actually worked like Romans 3:17 says it will: "...that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God."