The Hitcher

As I was driving home from work yesterday, I saw a man thumbing a ride into town and I stopped to give him a lift. I have to admit that I was hoping that he would have to get in the back of my truck so I didn't have to really mess with him, but he hopped right into the cab with me.

And he didn't smell too good. He didn't look good. I was tired from work and didn't feel much like talking, so I explained that I wasn't going far but that I could save him a few miles of walking and maybe help home beat the rain.

I am not writing this so anyone can say how nice of me or to get any kind of medal for being a super humanitarian. Believe me, I didn't really want to be bothered by a smelly stranger who most likely had issues or else he would have a job and a ride and a bath, so on and so forth. And while this is not the first hitch-hiker that I have picked up, I do not usually make as frequent occurrence of such as when I was younger.

But every now and again I think of the verse in the Bible that says that you never know when you are entertaining angels. And if he was an angel, about 30 cars ahead of me passed this angel right by; not exactly great hosts sometimes, are we?

And this not being my first experience with hitch-hikers, like usual they open their mouth and say something not very angelic and I realize that I am not entertaining a spirit, but just giving another bum of a human a ride.

But that is ok by me also, because I figure that an even greater reason to help someone who is temporarily less fortunate than myself is a good lesson in grace. And by the thinnest strand, I hang on to my own life at times; by nothing except the overwhelming grace of God was that not me thumbing a ride. By the very grace of God I was in a more fortunate place than my passenger yesterday. Of course I could pat myself on the back and tell myself that I work hard and that I have made better decisions than my unfortunate tag-a-long, and maybe even be accurate in doing such; but ultimately that is not only arrogant and unkind, but it is the thought of an absolute fool.

And more than the rationalization and realization of God's grace in my life, I felt the Holy Spirit compelling me to stop and offer a ride to my fellow traveler in this world. That is why, although it was a little less than enthusiastic, I stopped and offered a ride.

Now I'm not saying that we should all pick up every hitch-hiker that we come across. And I would go as far to say that I would kill my wife dead if she ever picked up a stranger! I do not believe that the Holy Spirit asks us all to do the same things, or that He asks the same people to do the same things all times. I'm merely submitting that we should be sensitive to the Spirit of God. I felt Him say to give this guy a ride and I did. I'm not good at it and I usually do it kicking and screaming, but I was very compelled to be obedient yesterday and on this occasion.

Getting back to the story, My hitch-hiker was not as interesting as most passengers that I have picked up before. There was no scheme of getting to Illinois to form his own country, due to a loophole in Illinois law. And yes, one hitcher actually told me that; he was my personal favorite. My brief passenger yesterday had no luster or charisma as some of the others I have offered rides to. He didn't smell like carnival hotdogs or talk about the glory days or spin yarns about how much money he was about to make when he got to his final destination or patent his idea for a revolutionary new light bulb. He was a a regular smelly guy with a slight speech problem and a mild personality disorder. And I have to sadly admit, that I was mildly disappointed. I at least hoped for some excitement and entertainment for my act of obedience.

But like most hitchers, he hadn't eaten in two days and only had $2 left to get four states away. And like most hitchers, he didn't want my granola bar or my box of raisins left over from my lunch. They didn't agree with him, even though he hadn't eaten in days. But I'm sure he would have taken a $10 to buy something to eat if I would have offered, but I knew better.

But unlike any other hitcher that I have met, he did say something that really stayed with me. His words were even more profound than the former rock stars, C.E.O.s, or the guy who was forming the new nation of Illinois. In his broken speech and nervousness, he opened my eyes to how the world sees God; albeit by no fault of His own.

You see, I knew that we would pass a few churches on our route, and I am embarrassed to admit it, but I was ready for him to get out of my truck. I was hoping to pawn him off on someone paid to do this kind of work and get busy patting myself on the back for how nice of a guy that I was. But my passenger gave me a shock when I asked him if I could drop him off at a church for some help. He told me, in a very nice manner, "No thank you." He said that the churches are good about helping the people that they know, but that they didn't seem care to much too much about helping out strangers. He then offered me his "last two dollars" if I would just get him as far as WalMart; and that his hope was to find some rest and help there.

That blew my mind! And I could get into a rant about churches and politics and so on, but that is not necessary here. But I what I do want to reiterate is what this man, who was very down and out, said to me. What his words said, even unknown to himself, was that he has no hope in the church, but his hope is in the people of WalMart. He told me that he saw more of God in the aisles of Wal Mart than behind all of the stained glass windows in town. His words unknowingly said that people are good and helpful, just as long as they are not at church.

I was really taken back. I showed no surprise, I just headed toward Wal Mart. But I have thought about that hitch-hiker's words most of the day. And I have wondered about how many people in my community feel the same way about church as he does.

And even now as I reflect back on yesterday while I write, I remember the shame and the sorrow I felt as I hurried home to spray Febreze in my truck. I still think of how humbled I was as I hoped to get any remnants of my passenger out of my truck. I think about how God can use many means and many people, even without them knowing it, to teach important lessons. Lessons on arrogance and ignorance. Lessons about patting myself on my back for being such a great guy. Lessons about being Christ-like and simply meeting needs regardless of situation or person. Lessons about humility. But mostly, lessons about grace; grace that comes from Him. Even if He delivers it in a plain, smelly, speech impeded hitch-hiker whom He died for, just the same as He died for a disgruntled and inconvenienced man driving home from work, patting himself on the back for being a great human being.

I want to end by saying that I am not saying that we should be more more aware of hitch-hikers or angels. But I do feel we should all be more sensitive to God's Spirit. We never know when he is going to teach a very important lesson. And we never know who He will decide to deliver such message. I was taught and reminded of so many things, on so many levels, by two minutes of conversation during a ten minute ride to Wal Mart... by a man I arrogantly pre-determined myself to be so much better than. And all the soap in the world can't change that. I bet my hitch-hiker has long forgot about me and my great act of humanity, but I doubt that I will forget, for a long time, the lesson God sent to me through a smelly, anxious, tongue-tied, and simple traveler.