The Sword and the Rolling Stone

Tim had been driving for hours and needed a place to stop. He was extremely hungry and the large bag of Doritos he had bought at the Citgo station back in Kansas City had been eviscerated like a child’s present on Christmas morning, and sat empty on the passenger seat. His stomach felt as if it was trying to curl into a fetal position. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to stop as he surveyed the small town he was passing through. Part of him wished he would have stayed on the highway, but the sign just before he got off said the next town was more than 70 miles, and by that time he figured his metabolism would probably have gone after vital organs. He surveyed the landscape, which wasn’t much since the town he had entered had only one stoplight, and saw a little sign on the side of a building that said Henry’s. He couldn’t tell if it was a restaurant for sure, but figured it was worth a try since the only other things he saw were a small hardware store and hair salon, which by the looks of it had not had a customer since the Ford administration. He pulled up in front of Henry’s and put his car in park. He knew there probably were not going to be very many people, if any, in the restaurant, if it even was a restaurant, and he didn’t feel like talking to anyone so he grabbed his Bible and his reading glasses out of the glove compartment. As he entered Henry’s one thing became very apparent. He did not belong there. There was a small table in the corner with a few men playing backgammon, and one large burly biker man sitting at a table in the middle of the restaurant with a large glass of what looked to be ice tea. There was only one other table, and he realized that this table was his future, even though he did not want to admit it to himself at the moment. He pulled out a chair and sat down. He set his Bible on the table, and began to look around for some sign of service. It was while he was looking around that he heard the man at the table next to him say, “hey.” He started to turn, but then reminded himself that the man could be talking to anyone, and the word hey did not necessarily require a response on his part. Much to his dismay a few seconds later her heard the word again, “hey.” This time he turned towards the man, and did his best to put on a surprised face. “Mind if I borrow your sword?” the burley man asked in a gruff but not threatening tone. Tim tried to act normal, but he was at a loss for words. What was the man talking about? Was “sword” slang for something? His mind raced, and as it did he saw the man point to the Bible. Ahh, Tim understood now. “Sure, no problem” he managed to squeak out. He picked up the Bible and handed it to the man. The man reached out with his thick hand and took the book. He set it on the table and began to read to himself. Tim was not sure what to do now. Should he sit and watch the man, or do his best to begin a conversation. He could not decide, and as a result sat there staring at the man while he read the Bible and sipped his ice tea. After what seemed like about 15 minutes the man shut the book and handed it back to Tim. “Thanks man, I needed that” he said. “No problem”, responded Tim, “We all do.”

Tim’s story is not unlike many of the stories we have in our own lives. Stories where God has used us at certain times, and specific places to touch someone’s life with His power. In Tim’s case it was pretty obvious, but often we do not even recognize these opportunities, or what are sometimes referred to as divine appointments. I encourage you this week to be on the lookout for these divine appointments so that, as the apostle Paul says, you may make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16).