He crossed the street in front of me, walking his little bulldog. He was a younger guy, about 25 – probably just out of college, likely living in an apartment in Old Town. Just as he was rounding a corner to go a different direction, I stopped to ask him my question.
He thought about it for a minute, and then said I could pray for him. He had a smile on his face, and his dog came up to check me out. I prayed for him, but I noticed he didn’t bow his head or close his eyes. Instead, his face still held that smile, and chuckle almost. It wasn’t a “yippee-this-guy’s-praying-for-me smile.” There was something condescending about it.
When I finished, he pointed to the sky and then tapped his chest. Then he tugged on the leash and pointed to his dog, “And that goes for you, too,” he told it. I laughed a little at that, and then we parted ways.
He was trying to be cool and to take the situation in stride. I understand that. But it was that smile he had during my prayer that bothered me. I had to fight off the urge to be angry. That’s a prideful thing, and it’s not my job. My job is just to follow the Great Commission and love others. I feel I did that.
Any discouragement I had was wiped away moments later as I was driving home. It was as if God set the radio on a schedule for me. I heard a brief devotional by the evangelist Luis Palau, talking about how Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow him into the world, spreading the Good News. His final scripture was this: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16
We just need to keep sharing it, no matter how tough it may be.
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