"God Will Find You!"

Matthew 7:7 "Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened."

Dr. Sean, a Theology professor at the Baptist seminary remembered very well the first day he saw Johnny. His eyes needed a double-look to believe what was walking into the classroom. Johnny was about 5’10 and his dark straggly hair draped over almost ½ the length of body. He was wearing what one could described as a Criss Angel look alike costume. Sean did something that he knew was very wrong, something he would repent of later; he judged him by his appearance and labeled him in his mind as very strange. Johnny did, as Dr. Sean suspected, turn out to be an atheist and constantly objected to, made fun of, and smirked at the possibility of an unconditionally loving God.

At the end of the semester, as he was turning in his final exam Johnny asked Dr. Sean, "Do you think I will ever find God?" 

Dr. Sean is not sure why, but he immediately and almost unconsciously said, "No!"

Johnny was surprised by his response and said, "How could you say that, I thought all you Bible-Thumpers pushed salvation on everyone."

Dr. Sean waited til Johnny was almost out the classroom door and said, "Tommy, you may never find God, but I am 100% certain that he will find you!"

Johnny shrugged in shoulder as to say, "I do not care!" and left.

A few years later, Dr. Sean got some bad news that Johnny has terminal cancer, but before he could make plans to go visit, Johnny came to see him. Johnny was in a wheelchair because he was too thin and weak to walk and all of his hair had fallen out from the chemotherapy treatments. But something was different about Johnny. There was something different in his eyes. He was close to death, but his eyes were brighter and looked more alive than ever before.

"Johnny, I heard you were sick and had plans to come visit you.", Dr. Sean said.

"Yes, I am very sick. I have cancer eating away at most of my vital organs. It is just a matter of weeks or days now.", Johnny replied.

"Would it be OK if I asked you some questions about it?", Dr. Sean asked.

"Sure, I have no problems talking about it."

"What is it like to be so young and dying?"

"It could be worse."

"How?"

"I could be fifty and have no values, or could be fifty and believe that sex, partying, and making money are the most important things in life."

Suddenly, Dr. Sean thought back to the first day he met Johnny and how he sinfully judged him for the way he looked. He was amazed at how God used this young man to teach him a lesson on life.

Johnny said, "The reason why I came to see you today has to do with what you said the last day I saw you. You surprised me when you said I would not find God, but he would find you. The truth is, I have thought about what you said a lot since I last saw you and had searched for God. But, it was not until I found out that cancer was spread into my vital organs until I was serious about my search. I was desperate and did everything in my power to find God, but nothing happened. I guess after a while, I just gave up and quit. My father and I had never been very close. I lost my mother when I was young and was never able to connect with my dad. Then one day for some reason I approached him and told him, 'I love you!' He immediately burst into tears, hugged me, and we spent the whole night talking. That was when I realized that God was there, all along. I tried so hard to find him for so long and he was there all along. It was through love that I found him. The last time I took your class, I was not ready for God, now I am and would like to take it again."

Dr. Sean told Johnny when the next Theology of Faith class was to start, but he never made it to the class.

He did talk to Johnny one last time before his death. He said, "I am not going to make it to your class."

"I know Johnny."

"Will you tell your class about me, tell them my story?"

"Of course I will."

"Tell them that God is there, He is always there. It only takes love to see him!"

1 John 4:8 "Anyone who does not know love does not know God, because God is love."

The Most Valuable Thing in the World!

"Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it." Proverbs 22:6 NLT

It had been a long time since James last saw the old man. After graduation from high school, his life became very busy. He joined the Army, moved away from his home town, got married, and had kids. James had forgotten about the old man.

Then, one day out of the blue he got an email from an old neighbor buddy he grew up with, "Mr. Rodgers from down the street passed away last night. The funeral is on Monday."

All of a sudden, memories flashed through his mind and he spent a few minutes reflecting on his childhood days. James simply replied to his friend, "I'll be there."

It wasn't til then that he realized something. The man was quite old when he left his home town many years ago and James had assumed that Mr. Rodgers had died many years ago, but he "Was Alive All This Time!" He must had been close to 100 years old.

On the day of the funeral, James confessed to his friend Chris that he had forgotten about old Mr. Rodgers and felt terrible that he never took the time to visit him even one time since he left town. Chris said, "He never forgot about you. In fact, every time I saw him, he asked how you were doing. He would ramble about the time you spent together and how much he missed it. Never stopped talking about fishing in the pond!"

"He is the one who taught me how to fish," James said. "I would have never found the love for the sport if it wasn't for him and now I'm passing the same love on to my kids!" "He taught me the important things like how to tie a proper fishing knot and the difference between a male and female catfish." "Now he's gone! Why did I not come back to visit?"

After talking to Chris, James went for a walk down the street. His senses were alive and took in everything. He expected his "old stomping grounds" to be much different, but found everything to be eerily familiar. Everything was just as he remembered many years ago; even Mr. Rodgers' old house was just as he remembered.

James walked up to the window, looked inside and suddenly gasped. Everything was just as he had remembered except for one troubling detail and found himself talking out loud, "Mr. Rodger's most valuable possession is gone!" James remembered just as if it were yesterday the small tin box on top of the writing desk. "Where did the box go? Maybe someone from his family came by and got it." James had asked many times while visiting, "What is in the small tin box?" Mr. Rodgers always replied, "The Most Valuable Thing in the World!"

It has been a couple of weeks since Mr. Rodgers' funeral and James was back home. Everything was back to its crazy normal routine, work, school, and kids. Suddenly, the FEDEX truck drove up the driveway of his home and caught James entering his house like it had done many time before. Except this time, James noticed something much different about this package than any other. It looked as if it were mailed years ago. The outside of the small box looked as if it was packed many years ago. Then James noticed the return address and blurted out loud, "It's from Mr. Rodgers!" His heart raced as he tore open the package and inside found a note and the small tin box.

James' hands shook as he read the note, "Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to James Apple. It contains the thing I value most in my life!" Tears in his eyes, James opened the box and found the most beautiful wrist watch he had ever saw in his life and on the back these words were engraved,

"James, thank you for your time! — Mr. Rodgers."

James sat there for a few moments stunned and suddenly realized what Mr. Rodgers valued more than anything else in his life was the time they spent together.
The next day at work, James put in for some much over due leave. One of his workers asked him, "Why are you all of a sudden taking this time off?" James replied, "I need to spend time with my family and thank you for your time too!"