The following illustrates an interesting concept. What would you have thought? What would you have done?
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 while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, ultra- conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but aren’t sure how to go about it.
One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, blue jeans, a T-shirt, and wild unkempt 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 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 bastion of conservatism strait laced church before!
By now the people are anxious and nerves are on edge and the tension in the air is thick. Should they ask him to leave? Someone needed to do something! About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Finally, someone is going to take some action. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a 3-piece suit. He has been a deacon since the church’s inception and is known as a godly man, very elegant, very dignified, and courtly as he starts walking with a cane toward this boy.
Now 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 sitting on the floor?
It takes a long time for the man to walk to the front. The church is utterly silent except for the click, click, clicking of the man’s cane on the hardware floor. All eyes are focused on him. You can’t even hear anyone breathing. The minister is like everyone else, he holds his breath and awaits what the deacon will do and can’t even begin to 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 regains 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.”
John 7:24
“Do not judge according to
appearance, but judge with
righteous judgment.”