Turnpike "Evangelism"

In the men’s room of an Ohio Turnpike rest stop I recently heard the good news. Sort of.

As I faced the row of urinals, a man’s voice from behind me – from near the row of lavatories – rose above the other sounds echoing off the tile walls. He was preaching. This is what I remember of his words:

“‘Gospel’ is the good news of the love of Jesus for you. You cannot ever understand his love, or know why he has chosen you to receive it. All you can do is believe it.”

Then his tone changed.

“I don’t know why you said and did what you said and did to me. It hurt me a lot, but I forgive you. The love of Jesus is stronger than anything that happens. He has forgiven me, so I can forgive you. You must accept him and trust him with your life today, and you will receive eternal life from him.”

I lingered a moment longer, not sure if I wanted to turn around and see who was preaching to whom.

When the person to whom the man was apparently speaking said nothing in reply, the preacher concluded his sermon:

“The tragic thing is: the bulk of humanity will reject Jesus and spend eternity burning in hell.”

I finally turned, walked toward the lavatories, and snuck a furtive glance. Who had been involved in this attempt at evangelism on that early evening just off the Ohio Turnpike?

Two men - one black, one white - stood facing each other. I assumed, perhaps from the way he had been talking, that the speaker was the white man, but I could be wrong about that. I washed and dried my hands, looking straight into the mirror in front of me, and made for the door.

As I waited for my wife, the white man came out of the restroom. If I had to guess I’d say he was a truck driver, based upon the the way he was dressed...but again, I could be wrong. The black man did not leave while I waited.

Questions: If you have to believe something given to you that you will never understand in order to be saved, why would anyone be condemned for not believing? And why does such good news for one have to be bad news for the many?

Maybe this news isn’t so good after all.