A Good Lesson

A GOOD LESSON

THERE WAS AN EXPERIENCE I HAD SOME TIME AGO. I HAD SET OUT TO LOOK FOR A GOOD FRIEND’S HOME TO PAY HIM A VISIT AND MAYBE GO EAT DINNER. THAT COLD AND RAINY TUESDAY EVENING, AFTER DRIVING AROUND FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, I DECIDED TO PULL OVER TO A CORNER, GET OFF THE CAR, AND LOOK AT THE NUMBERS ON THE STREET SIGN. I REMEMBER GETTING OFF OF THE CAR AND HEADING TOWARDS THE STREET SIGN IN THE CORNER. I READ THE NUMBERS WHICH WERE 5400, AND THOUGHT TO MYSELF, “I’M STILL A GOOD DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE PLACE I’M LOOKING FOR.” SO, I HEADED TOWARDS THE DOOR OF MY CAR AND TO MY SURPRISE, THE DOOR WAS LOCKED! WELL, I STARTED TO

CHECK ALL THE DOORS TO SEE IF ANY OF THE DOORS HAD REMAINED UNLOCKED, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, NONE OF THEM WERE. THANK GOD I HAD MY JACKET ON AND MY CELL PHONE WITH ME. OTHER THAN IT BEING COLD OUTSIDE AND DRIZZLING SLIGHTLY, I WAS ALL RIGHT AND TRIED TO THINK CLEARLY ABOUT WHAT I WAS TO DO, BUT AS SOON AS I

TRIED MAKING THE FIRST CALL FOR HELP, THE BLESSED LITTLE NOISE CAME FROM MY CELL PHONE WHICH MEANT IT WAS LOOSING POWER. WELL, SLIGHTLY AFTER THE FIRST CALL I MADE HAD ENDED, I SAW A MAN WALKING BY. I EXPLAINED TO HIM THAT I HAD LOCKED MYSELF OUT OF MY CAR AND HIS RESPONSE WAS, “WELL, I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO HELP YOU WITH!” AND WALKED AWAY. SO, I STARTED TO

MAKE A PRAYER WHICH WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS: “OUR FATHER, WHICH ART IN HEAVEN, HOLLOWED BE THY NAME. THY KINGDOM COME AND TAKE HIM WITH YOU OR ELSE I’LL SEND HIM TO YOU, LORD!” THEN I KISSED MY FIST AND SAID, “THAT WAS THE PASTOR TAYLOR PRAYER. I DO PAY ATTENTION IN YOUTH SERVICE.” WELL, I TRIED RINGING

DOORBELLS, CALLING THE WORLD AND A HALF AND THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD GET SOMEONE TO HELP ME. THEN, I CALLED MY FRIEND, BILLY. BILLY CAME OVER AND THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS TO CHECK AND SEE IF ANY OF THE DOORS WERE UNLOCKED. WITH A GRIN ON MY FACE I TOLD HIM, “BILLY, I HAVE TRIED THAT LIKE FOUR TIMES ALREADY...ON

EACH DOOR!” WELL, BILLY DECIDED TO CALL HIS DAD, BILL. AFTER SOME MINUTES PASSED BY, BILL ENGLISH, BILLY’S DAD, CAME BY AND WE BOTH STARTED TO TRY TO OPEN THE DOOR WITH A WIRE FROM A HANGER. FOR A MOMENT, I PAUSED AND LOOKED AT BILL ENGLISH. I WAS OBSERVING HOW HE WAS DOING ALL THAT HE COULD TO GET THE

HANGER IN THERE TO PULL THE LEVER TO GET MY CAR UNLOCKED. AFTER SOME TIME, I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THE LORD HAD ALWAYS SAID IN II TIMOTHY 4:12: “FOR US TO BE EXAMPLES OF THE BELIEVERS IN: WORD, CONVERSATION, IN CHARITY, SPIRIT, FAITH, AND IN

PURITY.” SEE, BILL ENGLISH COULD HAVE SAID, “BUDDY GOT INTO THAT MESS AND NOBODY TOLD HIM TO BE OVER THERE LIKE A FOOL IN THIS WEATHER. LET HIM FIND A WAY TO FIGURE IT OUT HIMSELF.” I’M SURE BILL WAS PROBABLY IN HIS WARM HOME, CUDDLING WITH HIS LOVING WIFE, OF WHICH WAS ALSO OUT THERE IN THE COLD, DRIZZLY WEATHER

WITH US, AND MAYBE EVEN ENJOYING A CUP OF HOT COCOA OR

CHOCOLATE, BUT LIKE CHRIST WOULD HAVE DONE, HE GOT OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE GET INTO HIS. I WAS STANDING THERE LOOKING AT BILL ENGLISH, A MAN WHO IS PRETTY WELL OFF FINANCIALLY, NICE HOME, USED TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE CHANNEL 57 HERE AT TRINITY WORSHIP CENTER, AND WITHOUT ANYTHING STOPPING HIM, HE WAS HELPING ME, BUDDY, A 20 YEAR OLD DUDE WHO

HADN’T EVEN BEEN AT TRINITY WORSHIP CENTER FOR MUCH TIME. I LEARNED A LESSON THERE THAT EVEN THE HIGH PRIESTS HAVE TO HUMBLE THEMSELVES AT TIMES AND HELP THE HUMBLED. WELL, AFTER SOME TIME PASSED, IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO GET EITHER ONE OF THE DOORS UNLOCKED, SO, WE WENT INTO BILL’S MINI VAN AND

TRIED MAKING SOME PHONE CALLS TO OTHER PEOPLE, BUT IT WAS USELESS. NOTHING WAS HAPPENING AND I WAS GETTING RESTLESS, SO, I GOT OFF THE VAN TO TRY TO OPEN UP MY CAR, AGAIN WITH THE HANGER. WELL, ABOUT 15 MINUTES PASSED BY AND I SEE DARLENE, BILL’S WIFE, GETTING OFF THE VAN AND COMING TOWARDS ME. SHE HAD A SMILE ON HER FACE AND SAID THE MOST BRILLIANT WORDS I HAD HEARD THAT EVENING. OF COURSE, COMING FROM A WISE WOMAN, SHE

SAID, “BUDDY, WHY DON’T WE CALL “POP - A - LOCK”?” I WAS LIKE, “DUH BUDDY!” THEN, I REMEMBERED I ONLY HAD $20.00 CASH WITH ME AND THAT THE ATM CARD WAS IN MY WORK BAG AND MY WORK BAG WAS IN THE TRUNK AND THE TRUNK WAS LOCKED! I TOLD HER, “THAT’S A GREAT IDEA, BUT I ONLY HAVE $20.00 WITH ME.” HER RESPONSE WAS, “OH, DON’T WORRY, YOU GOOD LOOKING YOUNG MAN THAT SEEMS TO BE LOOSING WEIGHT, WE’LL HELP YOU OUT WITH THAT.” OKAY, THAT WASN’T HER RESPONSE. HER RESPONSE WAS MORE LIKE, “OH, DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT. BILL WILL PAY THE DIFFERENCE AND YOU CAN PAY HIM BACK