He asked me for money. Truthfully I never carry money so I asked him what he needed.
"I'm hungry" he said.
So into the nearest coffee shop we went. I bought him something to eat and a coffee. We chit-chatted a bit and then he needed to be going.
As we were preparing to part ways, I wanted to tell him something about my faith in God, but I wanted to make sure it didn't come out sounding weird. I didn't feel afraid or ashamed of my faith in God, I just wanted whatever I said to make a difference.
So in my fog, I ended up mumbling something like "God bless you" as he walked away.
I was reflecting on the experience later that day and I had a chat with God.
I told him that there was more I wanted to say. I wanted "Arthur" to know that God loved him and had a wonderful plan for his life.
I asked God to give me another chance with "Arthur" so I could tell him what I didn't the first time.
Tuesday. No Arthur.
Wednesday. No Arthur.
Thursday.
I just popped out of the office for a breath of fresh air after lunch and there stood Arthur.
"Arthur!!" I said.
We exchange some pleasantries and then I asked him if wanted to grab a quick coffee.
In we went again.
This time after the coffee, I told him, "Arthur, there was more I wanted to say to you last time we talked, but I didn't know how to say it."
"Just say it" he said back.
I proceeded to tell him what was on my heart. Basically that I love and follow Jesus from the Bible, and that I believe God loves Arthur very much and has a wonderful plan for his life.
Arthur wasn't so sure.
He told me that he thought God wanted him to go to hell because when he was in prison, they had tobacco but no paper to role a cigarette with. He used to go into the chapel and grab a bible and tear out pages to roll for a smoke. He was certain that this was going to condemn him to hell.
I told him I didn't think that God cared about that very much and that God loved him anyway.
I had to head back to work so I asked him if it would be OK if I prayed for him, and if so what could I pray for him.
He asked if I could simply pray that God could forgive him for smoking the pages from the Bible.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and prayed for him.
As we were parting ways, I said "Now that you're out of prison, would you like a Bible for reading?"
He said Yes he would.
And now I pray for a third chance.
