My wife and I run a bicycle shop in the metro Detroit area, which is a seasonal business. We usually are fairly busy during the spring and summer months, but we slow down quite a bit during the fall and winter. This cycle (I like the chance to throw in that word!) usually requires us to hire seasonal help in order to get through this busy season, and this year hasn’t been any different. Or so I thought.
I am usually busy during this time of the year in our workroom, doing repairs on bikes, assembling new bikes, and frequently serving our customers. Because I spend so much time in the workroom, I try to use that time to maximize my Biblical studies. I am usually listening to mp3 recordings of sermons, Christian talk radio, worship music, or the Bible on compact disc.
This season I hired someone to help out with the mechanical duties, and it turns out that he is a pagan. “What does that mean?” you might ask. Well, at first I kind of thought he was kidding, you know, someone who doesn’t really believe in God, an agnostic or an atheist just making a joke, teasing the Christian guy at work. Turns out, though, he really is a pagan, a worshipper of nature, believing in many Gods, and ultimately, believing in a “balanced” god system, a divine male and female. His wife is a wiccan, as are both of his teenage daughters.
Paul (not his real name) has been working for me now for about 2 months, and he is a great guy in just about every respect. He loves his kids, is heavily involved in all of their activities, and he is always willing to help whenever needed around the shop. We get along very well, and we constantly discuss theological issues. He is quite open to just about anything I want to share with him, and he often shares his past experiences with me.
Paul used to be a Christian. He and his wife lived in Texas and were members of a fairly legalistic fundamental church there. They had some bad experiences at that church, and ultimately left the faith. He often tells me how bad Christians behave, and I frequently have to agree with him. In fact, I keep telling him that unfortunately for Jesus, the worst advertising for Christianity is often the Christians!
Lately Paul has told me that if anyone can convert him back to Christianity, it would be me. At first, I thought he was teasing me again, but he was serious. He told me that he hadn’t met a Christian like me before, someone that didn’t judge him, but just listened to what he had to say, interacted with him, and didn’t condemn him to hell and the devil. I wish that weren’t true, I feel bad for Paul, that he and his wife haven’t been able to experience the love and grace that God has shown us through Jesus.
He said the same thing again the other day, so I asked him if he was serious or if he was simply challenging me. He said it wasn’t really possible for him to convert back to Christianity, there was no way he’d ever worship Hey Zeus (his phrase for Jesus) again. The funny thing is that I know God has been working on Paul’s heart ever since he left the faith, He is putting questions into Paul’s mind that I don’t think he ever considered, and it is causing him to think about new and interesting issues in his life.
I pray that God gives me the answers that Paul needs to hear. If anyone reading this blog has any experience dealing with and talking about these issues with pagan/wiccan believers, I would certainly appreciate any advice you can offer.
I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Romans 15:30
3 comments:
To me his questions and bringing it up more than once show that he is more than a little curious. From my experience in saying that I would never go to church I know what it's like to be curious and not know what to do next. I'll pray that somehow you are given the right words to say at the right times.
Just follow his lead and if he mentions it again maybe ask what it was that he thinks Jesus did to hurt him so bad.
Yesterday was a good day! Paul asked me how someone would know when God is talking to them. I told him that God speaks to people in different ways, including just placing certain people in their path, sometimes with just a word or two, sometimes with a message or story.
Paul said lately he had been feeling that maybe God had put me in his life, and he asked me if I thought that was a weird thing to say.
God is definitely working on him, He said he is even considering a Bible study!
Wow Al, what a testimony! I know I've met pagans online and in real life -- and they aren't the devil-worshippers they're often made out to be. I find usually they're people who are seeking to fill that "God-hole" that Mark is always talking about, and have aaaaaaaalmost found the filler but not quite. I think often they're like the Athenians Paul preached to when he said they were worshipping God all along and didn't know it!
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