Long Lost Blues Brother Stops By For A Visit

The gentleman at the door said hello, and that God had told him to stop by to see me.  That got my attention.  I did a quick scan to make sure he was not concealing a weapon or bomb or some other device that God might want him to use, and then invited him to come inside and have a seat.  He was elderly, walked with a limp, and had an eye swollen half closed.  I was not too interested in chitchat, but did want to know what this mission from God was all about.  He told me he was an Apostle of God, a Reverend, who had recently moved from Ohio to this area to begin a “Ministry of Restoration” for troubled pastors.  Troubled pastors?  I told him I might have my conflicts within and without, and sometimes even with God, but that basically I am at peace.  He smiled and said his intention was to establish an ongoing ministry to churches and pastors throughout the region.  Fine, I said.  Then he got down to the more immediate purpose of the visit.  He had some health problems associated with diabetes that required a trip to a physician in Columbus, with the costs being around $100.  And God had told him to stop by and make this request.

So, I’m thinking, “How do you argue with God?”  It’s really an unfair device of religious debate, and I see it employed quite a bit.  If one feels that God has told him to do something, then he is likely not to be dissuaded.  No amount of reason, logic, conversation, or counter will suffice.

Really, he was a pleasant man, and I felt compassion for his plight.  As best I could discern, truly he did travel across country without financial means simply because he felt it to be God’s will.  He told me he had a couple of Bible college degrees, and seemed to be fairly rational and reasonable, except for his faith.  I told him that I was concerned for his well-being, that he seemed like a nice and sincere person who truly loved God.  But even the Apostle Paul was a tentmaker who did not just strike out on a mission in abject poverty.  And I told him we already have capable people in this area who do his projected ministry, noted and trusted counselors and therapists with established offices & clientele.

Simply he smiled at me.  He knew I did not understand.  And at that moment I realized there was a gulf of difference between us.  And, who knows?  Maybe, for his place and time in life, indeed his life is at this moment most pleasing to God?

So I gave him some money, held his hands, and voiced a prayer for God’s guidance and protection.

Sigh.
10.20.09 (8:22 pm)   [edit]

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A Troublesome Conversation With Some Little Old Ladies

I want to pass along just a bit of stream-of-consciousness thought about a troublesome incident from earlier this day.  And I will forewarn you that I have not thoroughly thought through this matter nor very carefully chosen the use of my words, matters I usually try to address before crafting a post.  So what follows is simply what is on my mind at this moment, and surely subject to growth and change.

The conversation was with about a dozen elderly ladies with whom I usually enjoy interaction.  I have considered them all to be godly persons, in that they have shown to me spiritual discipline and Christian character over the course of several years.  In the line of bantering while having lunch together, I casually told them I had just finished reading Dreams Of My Father by Barack Obama.  And I commented that, whatever your take on his politics, one would surely agree that he is a smart man and an excellent communicator.  The response was uncomfortable silence.  I heard a lady muttering to no one in particular that we will just see how smart he is when he loses the next election.  A gentleman standing over to the side said  Obama was a terrible president, and that he will surely lose in 2012.  And I could clearly sense by the uncomfortable coldness of everyone present that no one was ready to acknowledge my gentle challenge that our President at least deserves a begrudging respect.  When one asked me later what I could possibly see as good in this man, I responded just briefly about how he arose from a quite difficult background to the highest office in the land.  She was not buying my argument.

Here’s my beef: I am not a political supporter of President Obama, something which anyone who even briefly knows me would acknowledge.  But even as a political conservative, it is not hard or even unreasonable to agree that he has written a compelling book and he deserves respect for becoming President against such staggering odds.  The ladies with whom I spoke are mostly widows of husbands who worked union jobs, and they now have comfortable lives supported by union pensions.  They are Dixie-crats; they may be conservative in their social and religious views, but they have been faithful to vote Democrat throughout their lives.  And I am convinced Barack Obama is no more liberal than Bill Clinton, or certainly John Kerry.  Yet they seemed to have no problem voting for those men. 

So, what’s the difference?  It is pretty obvious to me, and I do not like the conclusion.  

10.14.09 (3:59 pm)   [edit]

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