9/29/15 Jesse
and Derrick early
20’s
Dressed in hipster
gear and heavily pierced and tatted, Jesse answered my sidewalk question
through his nose and lip rings regarding his beliefs about eternity: “I like to
think that we come back as another life form, depending on what we’ve done in
this life” he said. Jesse values a self-image
of independence and self-expression, and this carries over from his looks to
his beliefs, as if he can form his own ultimate truth from the buffet table of religious
and philosophical ideas out there. I
asked him about this: “So do you think
that we can change the truth of what happens to us after we die by what we
choose to believe about it, or is it fixed regardless of what we think?” I was glad Jesse was humble enough to admit
ignorance: “Who am I to change truth? I
don’t know sh___!” he said. Now we were
getting somewhere! “Sometimes admitting you just don’t know can be the smartest
thing you can do…” I told him…“And when it comes down to it, we can’t define
God by our own abilities, unless He decides to reveal Himself to us”. Jesse could agree with that, so I went on… “And
who are we to think that He would reveal Himself only to us individually, out
of the billions of people on this planet?
This leaves us with the great world religions that have been around for
centuries…” By this time Jesse was
joined by his friend Derrick, whom he had been waiting for, and who was less
open to conversation. I talked some
about how Christianity is unique among world religions in that it is the only
religion that doesn’t rely on our good works for a better life to come, but on
the good work of God in Jesus on our behalf.
Derrick began to drag Jesse away at this point, who followed his lead by
refusing to take anything I had for them to read. I wanted to share so much more of the Gospel
with Jesse, but it was his decision to allow his friend to cut him short. Do the friends we choose to hang out with
affect us for eternity? Both fortunately and unfortunately, yes, I believe they
do, no matter how independent we might think we are.
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