Taking “the” Test

I visited Seattle for the first time a few days ago. It is a unique city. At least the parts I saw were. There were a few hours to kill before our sea-plane left for Canada, so we took the opportunity to visit and see some of the sites. “Pikes Place Market” is worth a look. Several blocks long and the world leader in flavored jellies and flying fish, Pikes Place is world famous. I over-dosed on the white nectarines and cherries, cheese samples, jelly samples, fish samples, candy samples… I felt like a senior citizen in the frozen foods section of Costco.

After enough trips through the market for the owners to start recognizing us, we took our sticky hands and mouths to a local park to watch the “Blue Angels” perform. Unfortunately, we were a few minutes too late, but there were some local bands performing so we thought we would sit and enjoy the music. After 15 or 20 minutes, it struck me that this might be a “Christian” band. I heard God mentioned a few times; and if you put the word Jesus in place of a few pronouns, it could have been a praise song. It also could have been a song to your favorite pet, but who knows. Then they did a song I recognized, but then quit playing. A short, blond, very enthusiastic woman took over the mic to tell us how much Jesus likes us. “He not only loves you, he really likes you”, she said.

Our curiosity got the better of us, so we began to look for a sign or banner that would give us some indication of what was going on. We found a booth filled with information on the Gospel, so I thought I would see if there was anything worth reading. To my surprise, the nervous woman behind the table asked me if I wanted to take a test. Now, this was the moment of decision for me. I had never, outside of church, had anyone present the Gospel to me. I was very curious as to what would be said, and how I would be treated. So instead of telling her that I was a Pastor, I said, “Sure I’ll take the test.” The test was a very basic, “almost” presentation of the Gospel. The woman behind the table couldn’t answer any questions, but was very capable of pulling out blocks and puzzles. I was a little aggravated that someone had put her in this position with this pitiful training, and yet empathetic at the same time. I remember trying to share the Gospel for the first time. She was there in the heart of the city and its liberal, grunge wearing, tree hugging urban center trying to give the Gospel to the lost in Seattle. I was glad to see someone trying to share the Gospel.

I never did tell her who I was, but took some of the books and tracks. She found out I was from So Cal and recommended that I try Saddleback though her only exposure was “Purpose Driven Life”. My response to her was that I heard way more Gospel here today than the 20 times I have been to Saddleback. She didn’t really know how to respond.

In the middle of the test, it hit me. As I said before, it was the first time anyone had ever personally presented the Gospel to me outside of church. What hit me so hard was the following: How in the world would anyone believe what this woman was claiming apart from a supernatural work of God? I grew up in church; however, I was able to step back at that moment and see what it would be like to hear the Gospel for the first time. What a crazy story this woman was telling me. What a great gift faith is. What a great thing it is for God to impart faith to us in order to believe such an impossible to believe Gospel.