I saw a younger guy riding his skateboard. Just as he was about to pass me, I asked him if he would mind me asking him a question. He said, "Sure." So I asked him if he knew what it takes to get to Heaven. He bashfully smiled as he replied, "I guess quit doing drugs." He stated that he was still a little confused and asked me to clarify. I refrased the question by asking him if he died today, where would he go. He replied that he grew up going to a Catholic school but was unsure about eternity.
We each introduced ourselves. I didn't start off by going into a Gospel presentation. I, instead, continued asking questions. Just sharing the Gospel is one thing; actually ministering to someone's needs is an entirely different story. As Christians, we're not called to merely make converts; we are commanded to make disciples.
I asked Kyle what he didn't like about the Catholic school he attended. I asked him why he stopped following Christ and became disobedient. Kyle answered that he only believed because his parents forced him to.
Kyle and I sat down on the sidewalk, in the shade, and continued talking. It turns out that Kyle is 20 years old has been down here in south Florida for 3 months and is originally from New Jersey. Kyle is staying at the local halfway house because he is addicted to drugs. Over the past 3 months, he's spent a few nights on the street, he's spent a week on the beach, been kicked out of a few halfway houses already for relapsing, spent a few nights in jail, and now he's in Deerfield Beach. We continued to talk for the next hour. I shared with him that I have no clue about the extent he's felt alone and abandoned, but I too have spent some time in a few halfway houses. He looks at me puzzled, with a little disbelief but, also, a little bit of comfort knowing that I could relate to him slightly. He asked, "You have?" I said, "Yeah."
Kyle talked about how he was frustrated because he couldn't get past step 1 of the 12-step process. You could see him hurting on the inside. I asked him, "What does step one say?" He replied, "Admit that you're powerless." I said, "Yep. May I show you something?" He said, "Yeah." I got out my Bible and turned to Matthew 5:3 and read to him, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I began to share with him what the verse means...
"There's only one type of person who can inherit the kingdom of heaven - eternal life. This person has to have a certain attitude. The Bible says, he has to be 'poor in spirit.' The New Testament was originally written in Greek. There are two words in the Greek language that mean poor. The first Greek word means little resources, or speaking of money, little income. For example, even though I have a job, I'm still poor. These taxes are killing me. In other words, you aren't rich, but you do have some available resources. The second word in Greek for poor is the word used in this verse. This word means utterly poor and without ANY resources. In other words, you have no backup, no safety net, nothing to fall back on. Quite simply, you are 'powerless.' God expects us to come to him without any resources. Many times we think that if we go to church, or be a 'good person,' or go to a Christian/Catholic school, or whatever the case may be, we can earn God's favor. We think we have to come to God with all of these trophies and accomplishments. We think we have to come to God with all of these things; and, yet God wants us to come to him with NOTHING. Admit that you are powerless on your own and receive God's forgiveness and power to overcome your addiction through the blood of Jesus Christ."
I continued telling Kyle that despite what many churches preach today, I'm not offering him a better life. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian or not; life is still life. Life is still hard. I'm not promising the blessings that many evangelical churches promise in regards to finer clothing, cars, and careers. I shared with him that a certain gentleman in the Bible came running up to Christ because he wanted to follow Jesus. Jesus spoke to the man, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Luke 9:58) I'm not guaranteeing that life will be all that much easier. But, the difference between me and him is that while we both have to live life, I have something to look forward to at the end of my life; he has nothing. My reward of eternity makes live bearable and gives me a hope to continue to press on.
The bottom line of what I shared with Kyle was that he shouldn't accept Christ, or any other religion for that matter, because his parents force him to; he should do it for himself. Life is full of choices; life is full of opportunities. Everyday he has different opportunities and different choices to make. All I'm offerring him today is the same that Christ offers, an opportunity to make a choice.
Kyle and I had to depart because he had to check-in by 4pm. I gave him a tract, my business card with my phone number on it, and invited him to come to church with me. I told him to call me if he needed anything.
One humorous thing that Kyle asked me sometime during our conversation was, "Did you know me? I mean, did my mom call you and tell you to find me and come talk to me? It seems that my mom would do something like that. I needed to hear this."