Jewels Found along the Path of Life

While I was in college I became a student link leader with Campus Crusade for Christ and was part of a group of students that met on Friday evenings to worship, hear the Word, and fellowship together. I also did a lot of evangelizing on campus and tried to teach some of the other students to evangelize. Weather permitting I would set up a folding table at lunch time on a paved area outside the doors leading to the cafeteria. The place was designated by the college to be a free speech area and people were allowed to come and openly share their messages there. I would have tracts and bibles to give away and would try to engage people in conversation about their beliefs with the hope of sharing the gospel with them. One day, Ray, a fellow student from some of my classes with whom I had already shared the gospel more than once, came up to the table and started talking to me, just being friendly. All of a sudden he looked across the quad area and saw someone he knew. He looked at me and said, “You need to share with him, he is an atheist.” He then called out, “Justin, come over here.” Justin and his girlfriend started making their way over to us at the table. I was ready, but I expected it might be a heated exchange so I braced myself. When they walked up to the table his girlfriend looked at the bibles and tracts and said, “Oh no!” But I was undaunted and began talking with him, sharing about God and His love for us; that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness; and I read from Romans 1:19-20, which declares that God’s existence is proven by the creation itself, and that man has no excuse for not believing in God. I told him that it was plain to see that everything was made not by random evolution, but with an intelligent design. I pointed out that the solar system was designed and ran with a clocklike precision and that if it was altered in the least way we would either freeze or be burned completely up. Much to my surprise he actually listened politely and paid attention to me as I shared with him, and he didn’t argue or try to push an atheistic view in response. When he was ready to go eat lunch I asked him if he would like a free bible so that he could read and learn about God. He said, “I might take this and put it on my shelf and not look at it again for a year.” I told him that I appreciated his honesty and that God did also, and that I would rather he did that than say he was going to read it and then walk around the corner and throw it away. So he took it and went to lunch.

Next Thursday morning, which was the day every week that I set up to evangelize on campus, as I sat drinking a cup of coffee to help me wake up, I began looking at a clear glass container filled with beautiful little sea shells that was sitting on my desk at home. I felt impressed to take one, did so, and put it in the top pocket of my shirt. Later that day at lunch time I was at the usual place outside the doors to the cafeteria and saw Justin walking by on his way to lunch. I called out to him and he acknowledged but said, “I don’t have time to talk now.” So I told him I just wanted to give him something, and held my hand out with the seashell enclosed in my fingers. He walked over and I reminded him that the Bible said that God proved himself through creation, and then I dropped the seashell into his hand and said, “Now I want you to look at that and tell me honestly that you cannot see that it was created by some form of intelligence.” His face blushed red and it seemed like he was unable to talk. Then I said to him that if the seashell was created, then so was the hand that was holding it. I told him to keep the seashell, go ahead and have lunch, and think about what I said. He walked away holding the seashell and looking at it as though he was stunned.

About forty minutes later he came out of the cafeteria and walked over to me and said, “I still don’t have time to talk, but keep doing what you are doing,” and he walked away. I saw him a few weeks later and he told me that he and his roommate were reading the bible I had given him. As it turned out I did not see him again until the next school year. He had gotten a job at the college as a tour guide and was leading a group of people around the campus. When he saw me he rushed over to me and greeted me by shaking my hand and said enthusiastically, “You will not believe what happened to me! The next time I see you I will tell you.” Even though he did not say so, I believe he had been saved, and I’m not sure, but I think the next time I see him may not be in this life, but in heaven; however I do look forward to hearing exactly what it was that happened to him whenever I may see him again.