“You did see the sign, you’re just ignorant.” These were the first words he said to us.
Steph and I were walking towards the mall when we met him: an older, Indian gentleman, who ever so politely told me I was an idiot when attempting to cross the street. “I saved your life”, he said. I told him I didn’t see that it was red (I did – just didn’t care). When the light turned green we quickly crossed and he started to tell us how Abraham Lincoln was a terrible leader (random, I know). He said he had quite the respect for John Wilkes Booth for shooting him. (Really??) Then went on about George Bush (both of them) and how leaders who start wars should be ashamed of themselves. Needless to say, Steph and I were speechless and didn’t know where to take the conversation…
So we asked him his name.
His response was, “What is in a name?” He then told us that he was led by “the spirits” to talk to us. “What spirits?” we asked. My mind was racing. Was he Buddhist? Muslim? Something else? An atheist actually, but if he had to associate himself with a religion, it would be “humanitarianism.” We tried so hard to dig deeper into his foundation, but we did not succeed. We asked him if he knew Christ. He laughed and said that Christ was just another man, like Muhammad and himself. We told him that Christ led us to him. He laughed some more and went on another Lincoln rant. Another man then came up to us and handed him some food and walked off – didn’t say a word. The Man With No Name replied with a, “Why! Why does this man give me food?! I do not need food!” We replied with a smirky “Jesus provides.”
When he told us he had to leave, we asked if we could pray for him. He rolled his eyes. We then said, “Well, we will see you again!” He laughed. “You will never see me again.” “We beg to differ. If the Lord wants us to meet you again, He will lead us to you.” Then he awkwardly stumbled off.
About two weeks later, Steph, Shari, Travis and I set out on a prayer walk around Penang. It was around 9:00pm in the busiest part of the island – the nightlife area. Then, standing in the center of it all… was The Man With No Name. Steph and I couldn’t believe it! Surely that wasn’t him. What are the odds of running into him again?! I ran up to him with a big “hello!” And guess what he did. He acted like he didn’t know us! Lame. Finally he cracked, and starting smiling. He knew exactly who we were and that we were right: we would and DID find him again! And this time we let us do most of the talking. He didn’t even try to interrupt us to talk about war or George Bush. He listened attentively. I think his heart posture shifted towards us. Maybe God had been working in his heart over those two weeks. Maybe he really was moved by our last conversation but just tried to hide it. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter, because he was here and listening.
So, maybe he wouldn’t pray with us. And no, he didn’t accept Christ as his Savior that day. But we planted the seed. And that’s what it’s all about. As a Christian, I don’t expect to save the world. I don’t expect to feed an entire nation. I mean, if I did (or if God did through me) that’d be cool. But my goal is to love others well and to shine a light everywhere I go. And when people see that light, they are attracted to it. They realize you have something different, and that’s when you can tell them the Truth. So go out and shine your light, people! Love your neighbors well, even if you don’t particularly like them. (The Bible doesn’t say we have to like everyone… but we do have to love everyone and meet them where they’re at.) So go, GO!
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35
