BH and I were best riding buddies in high school, and so when he went away
to college, it was a place to ride to and see him on weekends. 180 miles away,
I put on a lot of miles to and from, and was welcomed into his crazy group of
friends because I was his friend. Think of the A Team and Animal House
combined, that was them, us. With one guy Big Don, an integral part. Don was
from the South, drove a Hemi Cuda that was rumored built around him, as he was
6’ 9” tall and 360 pounds of red neck. We could picture him on the assembly
line having parts of car added to him. But despite my first few visits, I had
never met him, until early one morning. After striking out girl wise on campus,
we went some 40 miles down the road to another in my car. I got lucky, they
didn’t, so they left in my car, the price of success, and I figured I was in for
the night. Until I wasn’t allowed back into her dorm, and was on the street,
cold, no jacket, no phones on a strange campus, with only my walking stick, that
I had borrowed from Arch Angel. Which was how the campus police found me, and
after warming up in the station, cut me loose around 4 am, just as they had
found me, the one concession was dropping by I-80 so I could hitchhike back.
Now cold is one of those things that defies temperature, when you are
cold, you are cold, and late October nights in Pennsylvania mean frost. I am
not sure how long I waited, but a tank truck stopped to pick me up, and as I
opened his door, his chains fell out. Cold steel on cold skin, don’t try this
at home, his cab heat never felt so good. And he was able to drop me a few
blocks from BH’s dorm. With the sun coming up, cold and frozen, hung over and
hurting, I could barely see, and inside the dorm, knocked on the door with the
pink crowbar BH left outside of it. After banging and yelling “open up!” the
door opened, and I kept looking up at a person bigger than the doorway. “What
do you want?” he growled, holding me by my wrist in front of him, feet off the
ground. I had knocked on the wrong door! So as I explained who I was, he let
me down, told me BH was across the hall, said he was glad to meet me. And that
is how I met Big Don, aka the Biggest of the Dons. We would meet more times
after on campus, I was in the crazy group of friends, but somehow felt uneasy.
What if he remembered being woken up that morning....what if? A lot of what ifs
crossed my mind, so I was always respectful to him. And every time I see a pink
crowbar, or a Hemi Cuda I think Big Don.
While hanging by a crowbar in front of Big Don, and thinking on a night
where it couldn’t get any worse it was about to, knowing BH and having him as a
friend may have saved my life. In a world where size matters in warfare, I was
outgunned, out maneuvered, and out manned. But mentioning BH set me free. I
wasn’t saved at the time, but some months later when I was, the name of Jesus
set me free. Where I had gone knocking on a door to be let in, he was knocking
on mine to be let into my heart, and save me. So often we can see the physical,
it is tangible, but we are told the things we cannot see are eternal. With God
providing reminders everyday of his presence, and even how before we were saved
he loved us and was looking out for us. So many are looking for God, opening
the wrong doors and being let in, safe and welcomed at first, until the lies
expose themselves. Truth will always win, but it is our decision to choose or
reject it. Jesus is the truth, the joy we have when we trust him, and know he
will protect us, even from ourselves. I am not sure in my old fallen state of
mine what I would have done if someone knocked on my door that early, but I am
glad it was Big Don who did, and maybe spared my life. But God is for us, so
who can be against us?
When a young teenage shepherd named David was to meet a nine foot tall
Philistine with six fingers and toes, his friends feared the worst. Sound
familiar? But as he was listening to his pregame pep talk, more of a “where do
you want the body sent?” he remarked, “why are you worrying? Was not God with
me against the lion? The bear? Why should I fear now, for he is with me?”
And we all know how he defeated the giant with one stone, even having a few
extra just in case. He might only get one shot, and he made it a good one, but
was hedging his bet just in case. But God came through in a battle he was sure
to lose if not trusting God. Today we will be tested as David was, as I was,
and who will we depend on? The weapons of man or the weapons of God? He has
given us his spirit, and even unto the cross, when Jesus was crucified, it
seemed all was lost. But an empty tomb, where the angel explained where Jesus
was, reminding them of his words of how on the third day he will be
resurrected. In the darkest hour, God still had everything under control. The
devil may have had his day, but we have eternal life in Jesus Christ. But I
doubt he did, as he knows the scriptures too, and knew Jesus would be
resurrected. And today knows his days are numbered as the end is near, and
Jesus calls his family of believers home. The rapture we call it, when in the
blink of an eye we will be with him in heaven. The blessed hope we all live
for, but for now, we are here on earth, on borrowed time, as his spokesman for
the gospel.
If you don’t know his man Jesus who stands knocking at the door, you can
today, as today is promised as the day of salvation for many. Tomorrow is not
promised, and saying nothing is really say no to him. You may fell abandoned
and cold like I was, buzzed and upset, not thinking clearly, angry and
resentful, and you have all the qualifications for salvation. Jesus loves you
as you are, he wants to give you better things, so you don’t have to stay that
way. He wants to forgive you, so you can forgive others, and forgive yourself.
So you can tell others of how he saves, and how he saved you. So when the days
seem darkest and death is at your door, you fear no evil, because he is with
you. David knew that, and true believers know it too. Life will offer you many
what ifs, I care to not think about what if had never met Jesus? I was going
to hell, and my life style was helping me. I will always remember the night I
met Big Don, but will always forever and ever remember the day I met Jesus
Christ. I was dying, dead, and didn’t know it until he saved me and gave me a
new life. Like the song says, “you don’t know what you’re missing till you meet
the Lord!” I hope all of us can sing that some day......together with Jesus
face to face. But for now, I know that he is with me until the ends of the
earth, never leaving me nor forsaking me. That wherever I am, his spirit is
with me. You never know what or who is behind that door.....but you will never
have to face it alone.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com