September 10, 2017
At Union Baptist Church in Grove Hill, Alabama, yesterday I was sitting up front next to the pianist. I play flute most Sundays. Everything was proceeding according to prearranged order. The Music Minister was standing on the dais about to give announcements. Our visiting minister, Richard, was sitting on the left side front pew (our church is presently without a regular minister and Richard has been filling in—he also happens to be my husband’s youngest son. Everything was status quo.
But, suddenly, to everyone’s startled amazement, the outer doors to the church seemed to fling open! There was a brief few seconds when we weren’t sure what made that noise, and then we realized what was happening. A young man we will call Motorcycle Man, for now, entered as if he was being chased down the aisle. He was dressed in black leather motorcycle gear and his black leather jacket featured a large skull imprinted on its back. On the way to the front of the church he flung his motorcycle helmet onto the back pew. We all were momentarily confused at the commotion and some were frightened, given the bad things that happen in our country every day.
Yet, before anyone could react to the young man, or even try to stop him to see what his need was, he literally flung himself down on the steps of the dais and began crying out to God in anguish. He carried a heavy burden. He cried, he prayed, he sought solace from the Lord for his suffering. Our minister, Richard, immediately reacted. He left his pew and went to Motorcycle Man. He began to pray with him and hold him as Motorcycle Man laid bare his soul and Richard ministered to him in his loving and thoughtful way.
I watched this and was moved. Suddenly, my spirit needed to go to the man. I felt led to kneel, put my hands on him and pray for him. I looked out over the church. Everyone seemed stunned at this most unusual event—it’d never happened at Union. I looked to see if anyone else wanted to do the same, but no one moved because we were all stunned by the certain presence of God’s Holy Spirit covering the young man and the church with the sweetest, most peaceful, most precious awareness that God was indeed right in that church with all of us.
I began feeling that prompting one gets when the Lord is leading us to do something. That “I feel God wants me to react but I’m not sure I should”. No one else moved. So, with trepidation because I didn’t want to intrude on Motorcycle Man and Richard, I put my flute down and walked over to the man. I knelt down behind him and placed my hand on his back.
I began to pray earnestly that God would relieve the young man’s burden and give him the peace that only truly comes from God. I continued to pray even while Richard ministered to him. Tears began to roll down my face as I was overcome by the young man’s anguish. Tears rolled down my face as I experienced the sweet presence of my Father God. His presence was like a great fog that sat down upon and among all of us and it was magnificent.
After Richard and the young man arose from the dais steps Motorcycle Man stood and told us his name. He said it was John (or Sean) Smith and he was flying down the highway on his motorcycle doing about 85 mph when he rounded the curve and saw our church. He knew he had to stop.
So, he stopped and came in and by doing so not only did he bless us, not only were we able to pray for him, but God blessed ALL of us in those moments with a feeling and awareness that human words lack the ability to described.
The funny thing is that most of us didn’t hear the arrival of a motorcycle at our door, even though later we all heard it start up and drive away.
The service was blessed. Our church responded as God would have us to respond. We welcomed in, albeit in amazement, one who didn’t exactly look like us or dress like us. One who wore biker black leather with a skull embroidered on the back of his jacket.
Praise the Lord, we responded JUST AS JESUS WOULD HAVE. Jesus welcomed and loved EVERY ONE. He was not impressed with a person’s place in society or his bank account. He reached out to the broken, sick, and lonely. He reached out ALWAYS to those society deemed unsuitable. And that’s what we who call ourselves Christians should do also. We should always ask ourselves, “what WOULD Jesus do in this situation?”
Of course not all in our church responded like this. There were some who were afraid. I admit at first I wondered, “is he a terrorist?”. It’s a normal response to fear a like situation these days. I think God forgives us this. But, He still blesses us, too. And I suppose it pays to be cautious, but I’m glad that our church was this man’s “port in the storm” going on in his life and I hope we are always that.
We will probably never see Motorcycle Man, but we continue to pray for him. We will see him in heaven though, as he revealed his is a Child of the Most High God. How joyous is that?!
Lastly, some of us wondered if indeed Motorcycle Man was an angel. We are told in the Bible to be kind to all strangers, because we might be entertaining angels unaware. Our God works in oh-so-mysterious ways. We don’t always understand them.
But we can know that GOD LOVES US. He loves us SO MUCH that HE sent His ONLY SON to die for us so that we might be able to be forgiven for our sins by asking Jesus Christ to forgive us, come into our hearts and lives and save us. When we do this something supernatural, but yet magnificent, begins to change us–we are covered supernaturally by the blood of Christ, who acts as our intercessor before God. God is spirit. Thus, we much worship Him in spirit and in truth. God is supernatural.
And all that is exactly why Motorcycle Man was given peace from his anguish so that he might continue on his journey knowing that the Lord is always with him. And that is also why we at Union Baptist Church will never forget this past Sunday’s (Sept 10, 2017) visit from a total stranger. It is also why we will never forget the real, yet surreal, presence of our Living God.
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