The Everyday Club

5/20/11    Greg    about 52
The ministry of conversation can also happen at the gas pumps. I had just finish a fill up when a cyclist on a totally restored vintage Kawasaki drove up. I offered him a trillion-dollar bill (gospel tract) for his bike. This brought a laugh and he - Greg - started telling proudly about the 4 years of work he has put in on his bike - the chrome, stainless steel, platinum and even gold-plated parts. He also turned out to be a successful actor who could quote long passages of Shakespeare and a playwrite with 10 of his own plays being produced. He was very interesting to talk with, but he had to get going soon so I knew I didn't have much time to switch over to a spiritual conversation. I told him my purpose for giving him the trillion dollar bill - that it was a religious tract - and asked what he thought the ultimate "trillion dollar question" could be, which helped start a good spiritual conversation. Greg grew up in a Lutheran family but now questions specific religious belief. He said he can't imagine heaven being any better than the life he is living now - that it must be boring with the absence of evil or conflict. We talked a while and we both agreed that God can use the trials and tribulations of this life to teach us things we wouldn't be able to learn in heaven. We didn't have time for me to go through a full gospel explanation, so I just asked some key questions to try to help interest him in reading the info I gave him. I couldn't help but think as I left what kind of person he would have been if he had given as much time to pursuing a relationship with God as he has in pursuing his hobbies.