Living Bible
His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes
in it,
jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his
entire four
years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of esoteric and very,
very
bright.
He became a Christian recently while attending college.
Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very
conservative
church. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no
shoes,
jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair.
The service has already started and so Bill
starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is
completely
packed and he can't find a seat.
By now people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no
one says
anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit
and, when
he realizes there are no seats, he
just squats down right on the carpet.
(Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college
fellowship, trust
me, it had never happened in this church before!) By now the people are
really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.
About this time the minister realizes that from way at the
back of the
church an Elder is slowly making his way toward Bill. The
Elder is in
his eighties, has silver-gray hair and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very
elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane
and, as he
starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to
themselves that
you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of
his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?
It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church
is
utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All
eyes are
focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The
minister can't
even preach the sermon until the Elder does what he has to do.
And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor.
With
great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill
and
worships with him so he won't be alone.
Everyone chokes up with emotion.
When the minister gains control, he says, "What I'm about
to preach,
you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will
never forget.
Be careful how you live. You may be
the only Bible some people will ever
read."