religious story called to meet such a man but worth the read

[Guest guest]

This is kind of long, but it is worth reading even if you do not go to

church or believe in God. Please pass it on.

Thank you,

Jeff

TO MEET SUCH A MAN

I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint

restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the

company were both especially good that day.

As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street

There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all

his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that

read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank.

I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that

others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a

mixture of sadness and disbelief.

We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We

finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and

quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square,

looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful,

knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove

through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store

and got back in my car.

Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go

back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the

square.'

Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the

square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the

store front church, going through his sack.

I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet

wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to

be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and

approached the town's newest visitor.

'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.

'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'

'Have you eaten today?'

'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'

'Would you like to have lunch with me?'

'Do you have some work I could do for you?'

'No work,' I replied. 'I commute here to work from the city, but I

would like to take you to lunch.'

'Sure,' he replied with a smile.

As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions.

Where you headed?'

' St. Louis .'

'Where you from?'

'Oh, all over; mostly Florida .'

'How long you been walking?'

'Fourteen years,' came the reply.

I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in

the same restaurant I had left earlier His face was weathered slightly

beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with

an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his

jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never

Ending Story.'

Then 's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early

in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.

Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had

stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who

were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.

He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival

services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his

life over to God

'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling

me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.'

'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.

'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God

has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's in my

sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His

Spirit leads.'

I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a

mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a

moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?'

'What?'

'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to

show your sign?'

'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make

comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a

gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became

humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change

people's concepts of other folks like me.'

My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered

his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and

said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've

prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was

thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.'

I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another

Bible?' I asked.

He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and

was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. 'I've read

through it 14 times,' he said.

'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church

and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well,

and he seemed very grateful.

'Where are you headed from here?' I asked.

'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park

coupon.'

'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?'

'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that

star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.'

He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of

his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two

hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and

unloaded his things.

'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked. 'I like to keep

messages from folks I meet.'

I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had

touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with

a verse of scripture from , 'I know the plans I have for you,

declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to

give you a future and a hope.'

'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just

strangers, but I love you.'

'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!'

'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked.

'A long time,' he replied

And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new

friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.

He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See

you in the New Jerusalem.'

'I'll be there!' was my reply.

He began his journey again He headed away with his sign dangling

from his bedroll and pack of Bibles He stopped, turned and said, 'When

you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'

'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.'

'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.

Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The

cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to

my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw

them... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the

length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and

wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.

Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you

think of me, will you pray for me?'

Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see

the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those

two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you

in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, , I know I will...

If this story touched you, forward it to a friend!

'I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do

or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not

pass this way again.'

My instructions were to send this to four people that I wanted God

to bless and I picked you. Please pass this to four people you want to

be blessed.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Please do

not break this pattern. Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one

another. God bless and have a nice day!

'Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail

buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your

love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at

this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy.

Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your

grace, In Jesus' precious Name Amen.'

I sent this to more than four, but this story is so touching I

felt each of you would enjoy it greatly.

GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!