After I left Cypress Creek Cafe, I visited some of the local businesses. I met L-----. He managed one of the shops. We talked about some spiritual things. He started by telling me about some Egyptian Sarcophagi that he had seen recently. I told him "that's cool. But do you know what an ossuary is?" "Yes," he said. "What about the recent Discovery Channel special on the ossuary that supposedly contained the bones of Jesus and some of his family?" I asked. He told me he didn't believe in all that mess, and that he's been a Christian for years.
I was glad to hear he's a Christian. At that point, a friend of his, D------, walked in. I introduced myself to him as the minister of music at FBC Wimberley. He asked me if I sang well. "I think so," I said. He said he'd like to come hear me at church one day. You see, he's not in the best of health, and he's planning his funeral. He'd like for me to sing at it, but he's going to listen to me first. Fine. He should.
Then D------ proceeded to tell me about how his mom and dad are buried on the same plot of ground, and that L---- will be buried there too. So R------ and T---- are probably relatives, I surmized. But after talking with them further, I put two and two together. "Do you guys live together?" I asked. In fact, they do. They are two gay men living in the same house. Now some Christians I know would have ended the conversation pretty quickly after that. Not me.
D------- said he'd accepted Christ as His Savior a long time ago. He is also convinced that he was born gay. He's not too fond of what he calls "preachers who bash people about the sin of homosexuality." I don't blame him. But I also told him that I believe the full Word of God. It's plain about the sin of homosexuality. So I'm not going to try to "suger coat" what it actually says. After having said that, I told him I was not there to judge him. After all, look at the kind of people Jesus hung around!
But what if these two guys actually walked in the doors of our church. And they just might, especially if one of them wants to hear me sing. What's going to happen? Will people greet them? I wonder. I want them to change their lifestyle. I can only pray that they do. But would our church be ready for a visit from them? Lord, help us to see people as you see them. And you know what, I probably will sing at this guy's funeral.
Friday, May 4, 2007
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1 comments:
I always enjoy hearing your stories of encountering folks around Wimberley. And I appreciate how you always come across humble, yet also faithful to what you know to be true. I think that most Christians in our culture, when expressing their beliefs to nonbelievers, often either come across as arrogant/dogmatic or lame/relativistic. It seems that Jesus fit neither of these descriptions, and neither do you. Thanks for modeling this third way for all of us!
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