are you a... christian?

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

I heard the question from behind and, at first, it sounded more like a statement than a question. It had a bit of an edge...

"Are you a... christian?"

I was sitting in Starbucks getting some work done and the young Latino man asked the question again... this time nodding at the bible laying on the table. He had that tough guy look (the one that is usually accompanied by "tats" and "tude")... a look that we are used to seeing in our neighborhood. I nodded and said, "you bet" a bit unsure as to the intent OR what was going to happen next.

"How long?"

A bit surprised by the follow up question, I smiled and said, "a long time." Then he got a bit giddy (yeah I know, I didn't see it coming either) and said, "I have only been one for a little while... but the Bible man... that is where it's at! I have read it through cover to cover in a sitting... it's changed my life!"

Now, I'm not sure if I misunderstood him OR if he was just saying that he read it through really fast but I will say this... it has been a LONG time since I have seen that kind of excitement for the scriptures. We chatted a bit more and he told me that he was still trying to "figure it all out" but that the bible was helping him "make sense of it all".

This weekend our pastor said that we all run the risk of becoming too dependent on the Sunday preacher instead of going daily to the bible ourselves... allowing the Spirit to teach us.

This young man was a great reminder to me today of the amazing gift we have been given. May he teach us all how to love the scriptures... so that we can "make sense of it all."