Reggie came well dressed in a sharp black sweater, good jeans, and black dress shoes, standing in a stark contrast with most in the crowded club. The faces sitting at surrounding tables were dressed in their best, which also happened for most to be the only outfit they owned. The scene was a banquet, open to all, but particularly to the poor and outcast of urban Minneapolis (read Luke 14:15-24 to understand what we modeled this banquet after). I watched from my seat as the tables in the Christian club downtown filled up quickly all around me, until I was the only table host without any guests. Disappointed, I waited and prayed for the Lord to bring the right person to me. Then he came, and though I never met him before that Monday night, I don't think I'll ever forget his face.
Reggie, unlike most of the guests at our big outreach event that night, was not homeless, though I found as he told me his story that that had not always been the case. We greeted each other with smiles and for the next hour over dinner I listened as he told me his incredible story. I was surprised to find that Reggie was a fellow Christian--not just nominally, but truly a follower of Christ. I have found that many times when I think I am going to be evangelizing, the Lord brings along fellow believers to encourage and be encouraged. As Reggie shared his testimony with me that night he paused many times, wondering aloud why he was sharing so much, and why he had even come to the banquet. I assured him that I was encouraged by his story, urged him to go on, and told him that God wanted him at the banquet even if he did not know why. This was enough reassurance for him, and he continued to tell me with tears in his eyes of all the ways God had proven Himself faithful over the years. At some point during the conversation he paused thoughtfully, then continued, saying, "It has taken 51 years for me to finally come to the point that my life is fully God's.... not God's and Reggie's." I looked with joy at him, knowing that he was realizing as he shared with me that it had taken his whole life--51 years of it--for him to come to a place of full surrender to God, and yet the joyous thing was that he had come to that place! He declared to me that his life was not his own, but belonged fully to the Lord. Oh the joy of sweet surrender!
I may never see Reggie again, but I was blessed by our encounter over dinner that night. Many lives were touched at the banquet, and I pray that his was as we encouraged each other as brother and sister in Christ. I look forward to the day when I will rejoice for all eternity with Reggie in the presence of Jesus--the one to whom we both have surrendered our lives.
Rejoice with us!
Jules
