and such were some of you (1 Corinthians 6.11)
I was just getting to the good part of the story yesterday when I ran out of space. So, let’s look again. Do you tend to judge people by their appearance and your expectations? If you do be warned, you are wrong! Look what happened to me.
One time I was at the church in the middle of a construction project. My Brazilian coworker and I were working on something that was of "the utmost importance" at the moment. As I stood there giving some instructions into the room walked a "beggar man" and his, pierced ear, slob of a son. Of all the gall! I mean, these guys didn't wait at the gate like "normal" beggars. They actually opened that gate and walked right into the church and began peddling their wares to my coworker. The dad had an arm-load of whatever he was selling. This guy was clearly a looser. His five-o-clock shadow was grungy. His eyes bloodshot and his breath... well I didn't get THAT close. His son had a disinterested look on his fat teenage face. And his earring screamed LOSER!!
My words were not missionary like. They were "Jewell" like. I can't remember exactly what I said but it went something like this.
"We don't want whatever it is you are selling so, GOOD BYE!" My friend looked at me with mouth agape and quickly took me aside. "This man is looking for a church home! He is new to the area and ..." this was the killer, "...he is a BELIEVER!"
An acrid taste crept up my throat and stung the back of my wagging tongue. I saw stars as I realized what had just happened. So very easily I had looked my brother in the eyes and had judged by his appearance that he was beyond all hope of God's saving Grace. He was the utmost of losers, beyond Salvation.
Today, eight or so years later, my hopeless friend, now a deacon in the church where I worked, laugh about that first encounter. That meeting was a stinging rebuke. It was one of those, "Wanna get away?" moments that marked my life. It was a practical lesson in ministry. My losers can be, and maybe already are, God's leaders.
As you think about this new day, about where you will go and who you will meet think about this. Who have you put beyond the grasp of God's grace? Is it that person behind the bullet-proof glass at the gas station? Or how about the convenience store employee who fetches your over-sized coffee or the person at the grocery story who helps you find the Coco Puffs? Is it the receptionist at the office or the person who works across the line? "They haven't got a snowballs chance in ...." Well you get my meaning. You've already condemned them to eternity's abyss. But has God?
Before you open your missionary mouth and say something you will regret do something that I have since learned to do. Look at that person as a transformed believer. You might have to mentally cut his hair, remove some of her makeup or give her a longer skirt and a tighter neck-line. You just might need to give them a mental bath or a shot of Scope. You may even need to mentally extract that little chrome ball in the middle of their tongue. However, if you can do this you might just see what Paul saw and what God sees. The Redeemed! You might even be looking at a future, dare I say it, Missionary! What do you think? See any losers.
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