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The Hippie
His name was Bill. He was in his
early twenties and had wild hair, and he wore a T-shirt with holes
in it, blue jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for
his entire four years of college. He was a brilliant student, but
kind of esoteric. A very, very bright young man. He became a
Christian while attending college.
Across the street from the campus was a church with a very
well-dressed, very conservative congregation. They wanted to develop
a ministry to the students but were not sure how to go about it. |
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One Sunday, Bill decided to go there. He walked in with no shoes,
jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service had already started
and Bill started down the aisle looking for a seat. The church was
completely packed and he couldn't find a seat. By then, people were
really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one said anything. Bill
got closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realized there were
no seats, he just squatted down right on the carpet. By then the
people were really uptight, and the tension in the air was thick.
About that time, the minister realized that from way at the back of
the church, a deacon was slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the
deacon was in his eighties and he had silver-gray hair, and a
three-piece suit. A Godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very
courtly. He walked with a cane. As he started walking toward this
boy, everyone was saying to themselves that you can't blame him for
what he was doing to do. How could you expect a man of his age and
of his background to understand some college kid sitting on the
floor in church??
It took a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church was
utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes
were focused on him. You couldn't even hear anyone breathing. The
minister couldn't even preach the sermon until the deacon did what
he had to do. And now they saw this elderly man drop his cane on the
floor. With great difficulty, the old man lowered himself and sat
down next to Bill and worshipped with him so Bill wouldn't be alone.
Everyone was choked up with emotion.
When the minister gained control, he said, "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."
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