The Answer is Coming

My week hasn't been productive, so I'm still up studying late at night. It's 12AM and I decided to make a cup of coffee to keep awake. Then I hear a knock on my door. What concerns me a bit is that it's also raining outside this late night, so I wonder who it could be.

I slowly opened the door and meet a man in front of my doorstep, drenched and clutching himself from the rain. "I'm sorry to bother you. My tire went flat and I need to change it, but it's dark out here. Can I borrow a flashlight?"

The street was too dark and I couldn't see anything well because of the broken street lamp, but I've never seen anyone look so desperate in my life. I was faced with a personal dilemma of whether to help this stranger at night or not. But is this perhaps a test?

"Sure. I can lend you my flashlight. Hold on." I noticed that I may have caught him off guard from my response with his round eyes and raised eyebrows.

I turned around and he just stood there on my front door. If this was something else, he could've made his move the moment I turned my back at him. So again, I wondered if this is truly a test. But I grabbed the flashlight from the cabinet, picked up an umbrella in my living room, and lifted my coat from the coat rack. Two people can change a flat tire faster under this dreary situation after all.

"I don't want to bother you too much, sir. I can change the tire by myself. I just need a flashlight, and then I can go." The man felt embarrassed seeing me walk outside with him in my coat.

"It's dark and it's raining. We can get this job done faster if we do it together so it's fine. Besides, I'm having a mental block myself, and maybe changing your tire would help me figure things out."

"Thank you." I noticed him beam an uncertain smile.

The street vapour lamp directly above us is busted, so he wasn't kidding when he said that it's dark outside. It's also difficult to change his tire with my small flashlight as small as a pea shooter. The only luminescence I can find except for the flashlight is the light coming from my lampshade faintly peering through my curtains and a distant vapour lamp along the street. Fortunately, we were able to change the flat. Were exhausted and cold afterward.

"I appreciate the help, sir. I didn't know what I was going to do." He says.

I thought that it was an odd thing to say in this day and age since I would probably use my cell phone to call someone. However, I somehow understood where he was coming from since it's late, cold, and raining – and perhaps his phone is drained too.

"I should get going now." He says after shaking my hand.

"Wait, you should go inside first and get something warm to drink. Just get yourself dried up, and maybe the rain will stop too. Then you can go."

"But I'm imposing on you too much." He rubs the scalp behind his head.

"No, I insist."

The man followed me to my home and I offered him a seat when we made it to the living room. I gave him a dry towel and I smiled when I remembered that I was about to make a cup of coffee for myself earlier. After handing him a cup of coffee, he thanked me once more for helping him out, and then he apologized for being a disturbance.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. I didn't mean to wake you up, I just didn't know what to do after getting a flat tire."

"Well, I'm glad to help. I haven't gone to bed yet because I'm still studying."

"Studying?"

"I meant the Bible. I'm a pastor."

A pause followed – perhaps both of us were frisking for the next thing to say.

"What do you do as a pastor?" He asked, and I earnestly believe he wanted to ask this question even if he had a certain poker face on him.

"As a pastor, perhaps the most important thing for me to do is to make sure that people do not make the mistake of believing that they're all by themselves in the struggles of life. My work is to proclaim that there is always someone who would accept them as they are." I paused as I took a sip on my coffee.

"I see. So it's your job to accept anyone."

Somehow, his words made me smile. "No, I'm afraid I'm not perfect. Frankly, I didn't know what to do after you knocked on my door. Only GOD can give us a perfectly unconditional love and would accept us for who we are since He knows and created us right from the start. Even I make mistakes; even I tend to be cautious around strangers; but since I know that I've already confessed that I'm no good, and that I need GOD as the author and finisher of my life, it lifts a huge burden off of me knowing that no matter what things I go through, I will never be alone in THIS life – and after."

"But I also hear people talk about Jesus Christ? So who is this Jesus fellow?"

I thought that I would have to introduce some amount of theology to him, but I didn't want to confuse him with more questions. So I wanted to be careful even I see this as a moment to introduce Christ to this young man.

"There is a lot of people debating about who Jesus is. But do you want to know my position?"

"Yes."

"He is GOD in the flesh."

I continued to explain a bit who Jesus Christ is, and how GOD isn't disconnected from us. The man slowly nods, and looked down perhaps trying to find his response from there. Then he takes a sip of coffee and blew out a sigh. It seems that these words seem alien to him; or maybe he's carrying a mountain of questions on his back; or maybe he was rather burdened on something else.

"Do you want me to pray for you?" I asked him.

"Pray to GOD? No thanks. I think I'll figure this one out later."

"Well, if you need someone to pray for you, I'll be waiting here." I smiled.

He thanked me once more for my hospitality and left.

I admit that I had a lack of resolve to share the gospel and I was disappointed at myself after that moment. I felt a heavy heart inside me and I was uncertain if the young man was willing to listen. So after he left, I continued reading the Bible until I fell asleep on my couch with my arms crossed on my chest. In my shallow nap, I could hear another string of knocking on the door, so I got up to see who it is immediately.

"I would like that prayer now." It's the young man who I helped fix his tire.

I invited him to sit down with me in the living room once more and it's now very late. I asked him if there's anything specific he'd like to pray for, but he simply answered that he wants to thank GOD for revealing Himself to him. I wasn't sure about what he was saying. He said that he'd simply like to pray and than GOD for the answer, and he wants to know more about GOD from now on. So we prayed.

Afterward, he confessed to me what he was about to do that night. I didn't ask him anything, but he prompted to tell everything immediately after the prayer.

"I was on my way to meet up with a drug dealer tonight, but I got a flat tire. I saw light coming from your house, so I thought I could knock on your door and ask for a flashlight. I mean, since it's my last chance to impose on someone, I didn't care if it was obnoxious. I thought that if you turned me away, I could just shoot my head with the pistol in my glove compartment. But you didn't turn me away. I was dumbfounded when I saw you with your coat on, and you insisted to help me instead. It was confusing while I was changing my tire, and I never heard you complain even when it was late and we were all getting drenched. I never knew there would be someone that would be with me when I've considered to throw my life away. And then you invited me inside to drink coffee with you. Not only that, I asked you what you did as a Pastor, and you didn't answer with a half-hearted response, but you even shared your way of life with me asking if I wanted you to pray for me. I never felt such warmth before, and it's something that I have been pursuing and missing in my life."

A tear trailed on his cheek.

"So it made me think back in my car. I still could meet the drug dealer, get high, and kill myself. But after driving there I never saw the drug dealer at the meeting place. Maybe I missed him because of the flat tire, but I thought that maybe this is the chance for me to escape from what I've been doing, because having this warmth isn't so bad after all. I thought I could make an escape from life with drugs. But that's not exactly what I call living when all I do is run away without doing anything. I've only been decaying when I lost my real friends and my job from drugs. Then I was reminded of what you said that maybe I'm making the mistake of believing I have to face all this pain by myself, that I thought I'm all alone in this life. I didn't want that. So now I want to live my life with someone who would accept me for who I am. I want to make my escape with GOD. I'd like to live my life with GOD."

From then on, I knew exactly the message that I was about to preach this Sunday.

* Based on a true story.