His name is Tim. 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 profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church.. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it..One day Tim decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Tim 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.Tim 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.By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.About this time, the minister realizes that from way the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Tim.Now the deacon 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 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 Tim 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.’
The other day I was talking with my friend Dr. Daniele about the medical camp he was conducting in a remote village of Karnataka. Incidentally he told me that the priest was the only catholic in the area until finally four sisters joined him with a small dispensary and a village school. He was wondering what the priest must do the whole day. I said may be he is doing an important work, witnessing; and he asked to what?; and I responded, “to Christ, to the Church and to all what he believes in. “I never thought of that,” exclaimed the Doctor. “Those who stand and wait, they also serve the Lord.”Be careful of how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!