When you hear the name Philip Yancey you just think of the spiritual giant, the man who’s authored countless works on the faith. But in the devotions I read this week, he talks about a time in his life most would not expect, a time of unbelief and skepticism. Now what’s interesting is that he was at Bible school during this period. He went through the motions. He got good grades. He did his mandatory service work where he would go to a university and “witness” to other students. He even was part of a prayer group. But he never actually prayed. He never actually witnessed. He thought derisively of the other students at his school.
But then something surprising happened. He actually prayed one night. And what’s interesting is that his prayer wasn’t immediately one of repentance, but it was one of owning up to who he was, what he thought about God, and those other students that he was supposed to be witnessing to, and it wasn’t pretty.
But that wasn’t the end. As he was praying he had a. . . well, almost a vision, but he describes it as more of a daydreamed parable. Whatever it was, he saw the Good Samaritan appraoching the bloodied Jewish man on the side of the road. And as the Samaritan got closer, he saw that it was in fact Jesus. And as Jesus knelt to care for the man, he realized that the man was in fact him. And as Jesus got close, that’s when it happened. He, the man in the vision at least, spit in Jesus’ face.
In that moment his cockiness and self-assurance were gone. He was not the same man anymore. I don’t imagine you could be after something like that.
I think this is an interesting story for a couple of reasons. First it shatters some assumptions. How often do we assume things about other people and their faith. We don’t always know what we think we know. Second, it speaks to the extents of how far God will go for his children.
So maybe take a moment and think about yourself, or those around you. Pray that God would continue to reach inside you and bring renewal and strengthening to your faith. Pray in thanks for all those times God has reached out to you, even when your actions amounted to those of this “daydreamed parable”, spitting in the face of the Lord. How amazing is that grace. . .
