Yesterday, after joining my pastor in Lakewood Park for a brief open air, we headed over to Sinagra Park in the center of Lakewood. While we were at Lakewood Park, a man driving by yelled that he loved women too much in response to Paul's preaching.
We got to Sinagra Park around 1:30. Paul did some open air while I stood with the cross. Paul left before 2:00 and I stayed until 3:00.
While I was there, I was cursed at once and the same guy who heckled me last Friday about helping the poor also drive by again and said the same thing ("Why don't you go help the poor?").
About 2:40, a woman walked up to me and started talking with me. She told me that I was not out alone and that someone had given her a tract earlier in the day, which she showed me. She told me she was moving from Lakewood to Rocky River and was interested about the church I attend. I told her a little bit about our church and gave her one of our pastor's business cards.
I told her about the Way of the Master course at our church and ran her through it really quick. She told me that people don't know how to repent of their sins- she thought she had but she really hadn't until everything fell apart in her Christian life. She told me how she thought she was a Christian and she was ok. I told her how I used to be the same way.
We both grew up Catholic- her Roman Catholic and me Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic. She was telling me about her past experiences with confession and saying Hail Mary's and Our Father's and not even know what she was doing. She told me she felt good because she was told that was the right thing to do. It all rings so familiar.
I told her about my experience with the abortion protesters and how Catholics sound saved because they agree on repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, but there is so much more that they do that is idolatry. I told her how if you look through the four gospels and all the letters, you don't see any worship of Mary- only writings about Jesus Christ.
She told me how she is interested lately in how Jesus grew up. "Not how they raised Him, but how he grew up. How He thought. He had to go through everything we did. He must have gotten into fights. Did He still have that power back them?"
I pointed out that through all of this, He didn't sin.
She replied, "He had to have sinned, because when He was young, He wasn't trained yet. It's impossible. He couldn't have been God-like from birth on."
I explained to her why that can't be true. Someone has to pay our penalty. It's a legal transaction. Our fine is paid in Jesus' blood. God will only accept someone who is sinless.
"Do you really think Jesus grew up all his life and never swore, never had a mean thought?"
I replied, "But He is God!"
She answered, "Yea, I don't know. I'm questioning that right now. I'm going through that period of time where I really want to know and I'm asking the Holy Spirit to really show me, because I want to know how He grew up. I want to know how He thought, how He acted."
She told me how she heard about how Jesus got mad. She said again, "You know I wonder- how did You grow up? What did You think? I want to walk beside You when You were growing. I want to walk beside You when You were a toddler. I want to walk beside You when You were 3. You have recognition of what You did and didn't want to do? Did You want to go to bed? Did You have a fit? If He was so human and yet God."
I told her that unfortunately Scripture doesn't give us those details. She told me that she doesn't think we know everything. I told her I think we know enough. She said she can't wait until the truth is revealed to her. At this point she had to go.
A guy who was a passenger in a truck recognized me from Thursday in Westlake and asked me if I was the same person.
A little later, before I left, two people came up to me and asked me what my sign meant. She asked me if it was something apocalyptic and I told her that it wasn't. None of us know when we are going to die and we need to be ready for that day.
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