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, this 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. Now 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."