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 profound and very, very bright He became a Christian
while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed,
very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are
not sure how to go about it.
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. 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, a deacon is
slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon 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 deacon
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!”
