In the eighties there was a group of Wiccans who met at a Pizza Hut . They met two or three times a week to eat and play a game called Dungeons and Dragons ( or D 'n D as they preferred ) . Wiccans are a type of self-proclaimed 'good' witch based on the pagan religion of Wicca . Their usual waitress was a christian woman , who though time developed a mild association with a few members of this group . Over the months she grew to joking with them about how serious they were with this game . They , in turn , told her she had a role in the game . This evolved into further discussion on religion and God .
Eventually , one of these young men joined the Navy . It was the beginning of ' Desert Storm ' and he was going to Kuwait . When he arrived ' in theatre' his first assignment was a chaplin's assistant . He later became a Navy coreman aiding in medical assistance .
A year or so later , upon returning home on leave , he stopped by that Pizza Hut . He waited on the waitress . When she arrived for work , he approached her with an offer .
" If you cook me a home-cooked meal at your house , I'll take you and your family out to a Chinese restaurant .
To which she replied ,
" Deal . "
At dinner this young man began to tell how he was now a christian . That what he used to refer to as ' witchcraft ' , he now called ' witchcrap ' . But the thing that stood out , was his comment ,
" You know , it wasn't your successes that helped point me to Christ ,
It was how you handled your failures and mistakes , that I remember . "
He had been listening , watching . Somewhere in everyday life , in the daily grind of feeding people or maybe even in a husband and wife arguement the man had witnessed the ' Verb of God ' . He had seen the active ingredient of faith expressed .
Even in what some would term it's passive form , a life consistently active in God will recognize that Christ , the Word of God , does not return void .
Did the waitress or her husband know the difference their following Christ would make , months later in the young man's life ?
the answer would simply be no .
Did she challenge him with facts and history ?
And again , no .
Yet something was and is active in this true story . It was not the greatness of anyone in the narrative . There were no factual proofs . There are many aspects to the active presence of God and more than one finite being can measure .But look outside the commentary and the science .
Is it the Holy Father
drawing us near ?
Is it Christ Jesus
cleansing and living
in us ?
Is it the Holy Spirit
teaching and comforting us ?
And again it is by opening our eyes , allowing God to be active in each of us ,
that we begin to understand the activity .
Is Christ active in your life ?
( an excerpt from the book ' the Verb of God ' by Robin Quinn )
