A lady had just rung up over $62.00 worth of groceries in the fifteen-items-or-less line at Albertson’s. Of course, I was in a hurry…
She said, “I hope you’re not in a hurry and if you are, tough bananas!”
My mind swirled. Shock and awe gripped me. Tough bananas? The nerve. What would Jesus do? Ah, yes. Yes. He’d knock all her items off the conveyer with one swipe of his hand then pull out his whip and…and…
Nope can’t justify it.
I gathered my senses and said with a grin, “Well, I am in a bit of a hurry, but that’s okay. But ‘tough bananas?’ Just for that I have to ask you a question. If you were to die today would you go to Heaven or Hell?”
“Hell,” she answered, “Because I’ve been a bad person.”
“What if I told you that bad people don’t necessarily go to Hell? In fact, there are more good people there. Why is that?”
I had her attention now. “I don’t know.”
“You want to know why?” I baited.
“Yes.”
“It’s a matter of sin. If your sin isn’t forgiven, you go to Hell to pay for it. Do you know how to have it forgiven?”
“Ask God?”
“Yes. Through whom?”
The customer behind me blurted out, “Jesus!”
“That’s right,” I affirmed. “When you have your sin forgiven by Jesus you get to go to Heaven. What’s your name?”
“Dee.”
“Well that’s what you get for telling me ‘Tough bananas!’ I just had to give you the Gospel.”
Dee let out a large party laugh and we gave each other a hearty “High Five”. As she left, I invited her to Hope Chapel. I then asked the customer behind me if she was born-again.
“No, I’m Catholic.”
“It’s not about what church you go to, it’s about a relationship with Jesus.”
“I know,” she said, “Hope Chapel helped me out during the grocery strike.”
Now the checker piped in, “You didn’t ask me.”
“Oh are you born-again?”
“Yes.”
“Oh great,” I said enthusiastically, “Tell others then.”
“Oh I can’t here.”
“Do you know your new Supervisor? I just said hello to him as I came in. He’s born-again and goes to our church!”
I was late.
*****
Have you had any interesting conversations about your Savior lately? Tell me.