2/23/16 Nick and Mike 30's
Twenty years ago, I would never have guessed that I would
have a friendly Gospel conversation on the street with a fierce looking man
with a nail stuck through the bridge of his nose. We were talking with Mike and his friend
Nick, two 30-something hipster/punk types who were strongly opposed to
Christianity or the idea of any type of higher power.
So why were they talking with us about
it? Yet there they were with many good
questions that revealed both their current interest and past effort at
debunking Christianity. The energy they
expended in their efforts against the Gospel actually encouraged us as we
talked about the conversation afterward.
They reminded us of a man who gave even more effort in his fight against
Christianity - Saul of Tarsus - before the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit
transformed him to Paul and to suffer for the name of Jesus instead of working
against Him and his people.
Mike looked
fierce with all his punk gear and especially the nail through his nose, but
that would be nothing compared with how fierce Saul must have looked as he
hauled Christians off to prison. We
rejoiced that "If God could change Paul's heart, he could change
anyone."
But Jesus famously said
"I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Rev. 3)
Maybe it's not those who are dead set against the Gospel who are hardest
to reach, maybe it’s those who are indifferent.
As we thought about it, we had to conclude that really, if God could
change our own hearts, who are we to think that Nick and Mike are beyond
redemption? We rejoiced for two reasons
- for this reminder of the miraculous work God has done in our own hearts, and
in the work He is able to do in people like Nick and Mike.
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