Please, give people a ride. I was driving away from my place and was a little bit down the road when I turned onto a major street. There was someone standing on that street corner who just didn’t seem to fit the area I live in. So, I pulled into the driveway of a business near that corner, rolled my window down, and yelled, “Do you need a ride?” He let me know that he was just crossing the street. No worries.
As I performed a nearly perfect three-point turn in that driveway—yes, Driver’s Education did teach me something a hundred years ago—he was at the median in the middle of the road. He turned toward me and started walking back. I rolled down my window and started chatting with him.
He let me know that he didn’t live on this side of town and had tried to meet a friend at an apartment complex, but he wasn’t there. So, I told him to hop in and that I was going to run some errands.
As I was putting up my window, he popped into the car. I turned toward him, and he said, “Can you put this back there for me?” No problem. I am a nice guy. But when you hand me a MACHETE, then I am going to have a few questions running through my mind! Okay, let me change my premise: Please don’t give people a ride!!
So, I gingerly placed the machete that he had pulled out of his pant leg behind me. For curiosity’s sake, I asked him where he got that thing! He let me know he found it that day when he was out and about. All right.
As we were driving, I asked him what he was doing on this side of town. He let me know that he had just been released from jail. When I asked him what he was in jail for, he said that he was incarcerated for making terrorist threats.
My response was, “You were in jail for making terror threats, and you just handed me a MACHETE?!!” (Please remember that I just warned you: Don’t give people a ride!)
Nothing about him seemed threatening at all. I wasn’t the least bit worried for some reason. I pray that God protects me, and I live my life trusting that He will do just that. We are all going to die someday. That will be a great, great day, if you are a believer. However, I didn’t have dying-by-machete on my bingo card, so I didn’t think it was my day to check out!
The good news is that while I ran my errands, Diego got to hear all about the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. He found out that the only way to be cleansed of sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ. He was very open. He said that his mom told him he needed to get closer to God. He asked for a Bible while he was in jail and was finally given one, but it was on his last day there.
Diego stated that he loves to read. So, when we arrived at our final stop, I gave him three books and both booklets. He had no money in his pockets. They don’t exactly load you up with cash when you are done with your prison sentence! He needed to catch a bus to get to the other side of town. So I blessed him with a good amount of nickels to help him get back on his feet again and have some money to buy some food. He was getting thin, and even he knew that. Bad decisions and stress can have some huge impacts on you physically.
He wanted my digits, so we will see what comes of it. Please say a prayer for Diego.
Did I ever tell you, “Don’t give people a ride?!!”
Until the nets are full,
P.S. Now, Christians should be giving rides to people. Ladies, I don’t recommend that you do that at all. Men, we need to be about the business of giving rides to people. And we don’t need to be so busy rushing everywhere that we neglect doing that.
I met a worship leader one day at a retreat. He told us how he got saved. He was hitchhiking on his way to Florida to go to the beach. A pastor picked him up and drove him for a while as he gave him the gospel. The next person who picked him up was also a pastor who shared the gospel with him. Six people picked him up, and all six people were pastors! He even said, as he popped into one car, “You’re a pastor, aren’t you?” The pastor looked at him and said, “How did you know that?” God is good, y’all! Keep serving Him!!
P.P.S.
