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His name is John. 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 esoteric and very,
very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.
Across the street from the college 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, John decides to go
there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair.
The service has already started, so John starts down the aisle looking
for a seat in the already filled church. By now people are looking a
bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. As John gets closer to the
pulpit, he realizes there are no seats, so he just sits down on the
carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college
fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!)
By now the congregation is really uptight, and the tension in the air is
thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back
of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward John. Now the
deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, is wearing a
three-piece suit and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very
dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and as he starts toward
this boy, everyone is saying to themselves, “You can’t blame him for
what he’s about to do. How can you expect a man of his age and
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. People are thinking, “The
minister can’t even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has
to do.”
Now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great
difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to John to worship 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.”
Author Unknown
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