I saw Jesus today

Today I went and studied in Borders for a few hours. I got interrupted by an elderly man who noticed I was reading "The Good Book." I was in John. Soon he sat down and started rattling off all kinds of things about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Believer (which he was).
His name was Robert. I spent two hours talking with Robert about the Bible...the "amazing story" as He called it. I agreed with most of what he said, though there were a few things that I'm not too sure about. He practically has the whole thing memorized. It was incredible.
He lives on the streets and in shelters. You wouldn't think it when you first look at him. Robert is clean. His close are clean, his hair is clean. He is shaven. But if you look closely...you see that his teeth are almost all rotten. He smells. He has no money...he made 75 cents while I was with him going to buy a newspaper for another man who wanted it. He's been doing this for 20+ years. He said God told him to live like Jesus...and to follow Him wherever it might take him. So he "lost" everything and moved to the streets of Chicago. He knows the other homeless people by name. He smiles at them--he says, "to a homeless person, the most powerful thing is when someone waves, smiles, or talks with them...not handing out food or tracts."
He challenged me a lot about what I believe...especially about the Spirit and the work of sanctification. It was amazing.
As I got up to leave, he called me over to his table. He stood up by me, turned me around and put his hand on my arm. He leaned in and started speaking softly. His breath was awful. "See that big man with the blue sweatshirt over there (he had just taken the seat I had been sitting in)? His name is Dave. He sleeps in doorways. The little old guy next to him with the black hat is Walt, we call him the little leprechaun. The black guy with the headphones is addicted to drugs. He has been in my shelter for years. The guy reading the newspaper is Mike. He sleeps on the streets and sometimes in the shelter." All these men had been sitting around me. I wanted to weep. I can't explain why but I just did. Robert put his hand on my arm and said, "just love these people." He told me I probably wouldn't group him with them (which I wouldn't have...he looked so put together!)...but he said, "I've just decided not to compromise. I found the one shelter around here with a washer and so I do my laundry. I have shared the gospel with them, but they don't always listen. I could continue preaching to them but soon the words 'holier than thou?' come into my mind...and the Lord sort of just tells me to shut my mouth and love them. Say hello. Talk to them. Eat with them, sleep with them. Most of all, pray for them. So I spend my days in prayer for them, and I walk around the city and go into shops and cafes to talk to people. Sometimes I meet other believers, like you, and sometimes I share my faith and it is new to someone. Oftentimes people will tell me to get out of their face, even the ones reading their Bibles. Jesus just says, be persistent, be persistent, be persistent. And so I pray."

Wow. I was blown away. On my way out, the young guy in front of me on the escalator turned around and said, "So he preached to you too, huh?" I laughed. "Well, sort of. He saw me reading my Bible and so we talked for a couple hours. It was really good." "Oh," He said. "So you're into that, too?" I laughed again. "Well, I'm not sure what you mean by 'into that' but I agree with him on some things, yes." We walked through the store and then stopped by the door and talked for a while. He's getting his masters at DePaul (but he didn't look that old at all). He's in the Catholic Church but "keeps himself open to a lot of ideas." We talked a lot about Moody. He said he has seen it lots of times but doesn't know anything about it. I told him. I told him what I want to do, etc., and about PCM and how excited I get to spend time in the city (like just sitting there in Borders watching people). He agreed, but said it is sometimes distracting. I laughed. We talked briefly about what it means to just love people and be involved in their lives. He said, "I'm fairly liberal on a lot of things but I think we would agree on some." I think he's probably right. That's interesting. It's also exciting. When I told him it's exciting to share with people a lasting hope he said, "Oh, I know. But sometimes I have no hope." He talked about how he tries, though. He used to want to be a preacher but he's not sure now. We didn't talk much longer...He asked my name, I asked his (it's George...please pray for him!) He asked me if I studied much at Borders. I said this was my first time but I probably will more...I like to get away from campus. We agreed we would bump into each other again someday and perhaps talk some more.
It was so neat. I didn't have to explain theology to him. I didn't have to explain a lot to him. It's easy to think "I should've said this, or I should've done that." All I can do is pray. "Lord, start a work in this young man's life! Take a hold of George's restless heart and bring it to you."

God is so incredible. He is the Everlasting and the Neverending. I have been thinking about these two names for Him. It blows my mind when I really begin to wrap my mind around it. Almighty, you are so high above, and yet you sent your Son down here....?

I was struck by a couple things today: The power of the Word (I need to be a diligent student of the Scriptures.) and second, I just need to love people in the simple way that is me. Don't try to be someone or something...just be kind, be wise, be loving. The Holy Spirit is in me and empowers me to do His work. Wow. Thank you, Holy God. Help my unbelief!