To Meet Such a Man

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 storefront
> > 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 Daniel'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 liv es 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?"
> >
> > "Well, I found this little map on the back of
> > this amusement park coupon."
> >
> > "Are you hoping to hire on there for a while?"
> >
> > "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."
> > < BR>> > 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 Jeremiah, "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, Daniel, 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


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