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Sermon
On A Lonely Road
by Tom R. Kovach
Pastor Breck had driven this lonely road
many times. He shuffled between
churches in two small towns. This particular evening, he was going back
to the
town where his home and family were—his home base, so to speak.
A veteran of World War II, the good pastor
got his calling later in life. One
day he just decided that the thing he really wanted in life was to go
into the
ministry. He wanted to help people, to work with those who needed
spiritual
guidance. And he felt that, in some humble way, he could pass the word of
God and His wondrous deeds on to others. He was very content with his
life.
Then came that fateful evening on that
lonely, cold road. In the light of his
headlights, he could see someone standing on the side of the road. The
pastor,
like other motorists, had been warned not to pick up hitchhikers.
Normally, he
heeded that advice, but this was an unusually cold evening and the pastor
could
not just leave a fellow human to suffer in the cold. He slowly pulled his
car over
to the side of the road.
In a few seconds, a young man jumped into
the passenger side of Pastor
Breck’s car. A quick glance revealed a shabbily dressed young fellow in
his
early 20s. He was unshaven. His thin clothes were not suited for winter
weather. And with not a little alarm, the pastor noticed a rather
wild-eyed look
on the young man’s face. A sudden panic welled up inside of him. He could
be
on drugs, he thought.
"Hi," he greeted the young man. "Kinda cold
to be out on the road tonight.
How far you going?"
The fellow just stared at him, then mumbled,
"Yeah, I had to get to the next
town, but my car wouldn’t start."
They hadn’t gone far down the road, with the
pastor making small talk, when
suddenly his worst fears were realized. The man pulled a switchblade out
of his
pocket. "Listen, pops," he said. "I mean business. One stupid move and
this
blade goes in you."
The pastor tried to concentrate on the road
ahead of him. Trying to be as
calm as possible, he said, "There is no need for that, son. If you need
money I
can give you some."
The hitchhiker snarled and said, "You’re not
giving me your money. I’m
taking it! And your car too! And I’m not so sure if I want to leave a
witness,
either."
The pastor had been in war. He’d seen danger
in his life. He’d seen the good
and the bad of humanity. He thought about his family. He thought about
how
nice it would be if he were safe and sound, back in his own home.
Why am I so scared? he asked himself.
Why am I trembling? I must have
faith that God will see me through this. I must get through to this young
man somehow, before we both end up as victims.
He started talking. "Tell me what is
bothering you," he asked quietly. "You
don’t have to do this. There’s always another way."
The young man laughed, "What way?"
"God’s way. The right way."
"Huh? Are you some kind of a preacher, old
man? What’s this God
business? Where was God when my father was drunk and my mother left
me
to an aunt and uncle who beat me? Don’t tell me about God!"
But Pastor Breck did indeed tell him about
God. And it wasn’t easy. "What’s
your name, son?"
"I’m not your son! And I don’t have to tell
you my name."
There were still several miles to the next
little town. In a quiet and soothing
voice, the pastor tried to talk to the hitchhiker. "I’m very sorry you
had a rough
life growing up. A lot of people do. But that doesn’t mean you have to
give up.
That doesn’t mean you cannot have a good future. You must trust in Jesus
Christ and His Father. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, anything
is
possible."
"You are a preacher, aren’t you? Well, it
won’t work! I’m not buying it. I
need money, and I need it now! I don’t want to hear any more of this
Jesus
talk. There’s a side road a couple miles ahead. You’re going to turn
there."
Pastor Breck recalled later, "I’ve given
thousands of sermons in my life. On
Sundays, at funerals, at weddings and all kinds of occasions. But I knew
that in
this situation I had to give the sermon of my life. In fact, I knew my
life
depended on it. And silently I prayed to God to give me the strength and
the
courage and the wisdom to do the best I could to convince this misguided,
dangerous young man."
If you believe in the power and mercy of
God, you will find comfort in the
most trying of times. You are never alone. Pastor Breck knew this very
clearly
from his memories of the terrible war he had been in.
"I will help you in any way I can. Don’t
throw your life, your future, away like
this. Trust in the Lord."
The turn-off was coming up soon, but the
pastor kept talking softly and firmly.
He felt the hand of God resting upon his shoulders, guiding his every
word. He
felt that he was starting to get through to the young man. As the words
flowed,
the retorts from the hitchhiker became less and less angry. He is
listening, the
pastor thought. Thank You, dear Jesus!
The knife was not pointing into his side anymore. The
young man seemed to
relax a little. "Nobody has ever done anything for me. I always had to
look out
for myself. I always had to take it if I wanted anything."
The pastor nodded in the dark interior of
the car. "But don’t you see, it
doesn’t have to be that way. There is a better way. Even in the darkest
of
times, there is always a light ahead of you. You just have to know how to
get
there.When you believe in Jesus, the darkness can and will disappear. You
will
be able to walk in light again."
Then quietly the pastor told the young
hitchhiker about his war-time
experiences. How frightened he’d been when shells were falling all around
him.
How many times he was ready to give up, but received inner strength when
he
prayed for guidance.
The young man listened. The turn-off came,
but they drove on by. Before
they got to the next town, the young man had put the knife on the seat,
buried
his face in his hands and sobbed softly in the darkness.
"I can’t remember everything I said that
evening, on that lonely road," Pastor
Breck later recalled. "But the Lord allowed me to give the best sermon of
my
life. I later worked with that young man. Prayed with him. Helped him get
a
job. Helped him get off drugs. It was one of the greatest accomplishments of
my life. I never felt closer to Jesus than on the cold, lonely road. First, I felt
fear. Then I felt the most wonderful peace possible."
Tom R. Kovach lives in Minnesota.
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