The Everyday Club

4/04/10 Jordan and Jason, both about 25
Two young men had just gotten off work at a nearby sandwich shop and were enjoying a smoke at a table outside Starbucks. They agreed to answer my questions. I told them that I am a member of a nearby church and asked them about their beliefs and spiritual background. Both have given up on organized religion, but do believe in a higher power of some sort. Jordan believes God is like an energy source that we all become part of when we die, and that he will be rewarded somehow because he is a positive person. Jason believes we will be judged for what we've done in this life and that God will say he is better than most people and he will be rewarded with heaven. They answered my questions about how well they have kept God's law with excuses and rationalizations that the kind of God they believe iin will be one who would overlook their sins, so I warned them about the dangers of wishful thinking.  We talked for over half an hour, and they responded to my patience and respect for their opinions by listening to my explanation of the Gospel, how we are accountable to God's law but have the opportunity to receive God's grace. They appreciated that I wasn't forcing my beliefs on them, but that since I truly believe what I was telling them at least I was trying to explain it to them. I am confident they now have a much better understanding of biblical Christianity.