Thursday, February 25, 2010

"I'd rather be a Christian than to fight."

FORENOTE: I just want to clarify that this blog has nothing to do with war. I understand that there are many Christians who say that war is never justified. While I respect their convictions, I believe that self-defense (and the defense of others) has a place, and sometimes war is the necessary means serving to that end.




If I knew in advance what to expect that day, I wonder what kind of a difference it would have made. Danny and I were swimming at the pool like we often would, when suddenly a kid came up to us in the shallow end and started picking a fight w/ me. He backed off b/c Danny stood up for me, but that wouldn't be the last I saw of Anthony. I went back to the pool sometime later on only to find him approaching me again. "Now you are alone! Now you have to fight me!" he insisted. Anthony kept trying to egg me on, but I resisted by pushing him back a few times. "Why won't you fight me? You're insulting me!" he declared. "Because I'd rather be a Christian than to fight," I replied. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking quite perplexed. "Do you know what it means to be a Christian?" I asked in response. "Not really. It sounds familiar, though. I think my aunt is one." I explained to him what it meant, that we need to ask Jesus to come into our hearts and save us from our sins, that He taught us not to go around fighting people when we don't really have to, and that this was why I wasn't going to get in a fight with him. "So do you want to become a Christian, too? Do you believe in what I just told you?" I asked. Calmed down, penitent, in a surrendered tone of voice, he said the two words that blow me away to this day, "I believe."


I was 9 when that happened. More than two decades have past. As I think about how I would handle such a situation like that, today, I have to admit that it feels like something inside of me has changed for the worse. What is it about life that often causes us to become more defensive as we get older? Why is it so hard to let go and focus more on letting Jesus be known for Who He truly is, rather than focusing on boosting my popularity ratings and acting in my own self-will? What would you have done in such a situation? Am I the only one who feels this way?


That was the last time I ever saw or heard anything of Anthony. As I look back on it, I'm glad that of all the times we could've crossed paths under such unfavorable circumstances, it happened to be then. Who knows if he ever would've come to know the Lord any other way? I hope Anthony's walk with Jesus has been continuing and growing strong ever since.

"I say unto you that unless you change and become like little children, you will not make it into the Kingdom of Heaven." - Mt. 18:3 (paraphrased)

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