Last friday night while preaching the gospel Charlottesville, VA I had one of my favorite hecklers return to me.
This is the second time in three weeks I have preached the Gospel in the downtown mall in Charlottesville. This is the second time she has showed up.
Her name is Ryan. She's in eighth grade.
Ryan is the typical middle school girl. She is in love with her own ideas, her own view of the world and she is above anything else incredibly postmodern.
She has the idea that if God is true, then he would be ALL-loving. ALL-forgiving and willing to accept anyone from all faiths. Afterall she is incredibly post-modern.
She really doesn't like us preaching. She hates it. Every time we preach Ryan runs to the CVS and spends her own money on a poster board and writes some messages that are supposed to take some attention away from us. Last week the sign read "Freedom from Religion means Freedom from Decision", this week the signs read "Imagine there's no Heaven, Imagine there's no Hell - John Lennon"
I got to talking to her again this week and she said that I made her cry last week because I told her that holocaust survivors deserve to go to Hell. It amazes me how she wanted to make me look evil by using a trump card to show me the most pitied men in all of time, and how dare I would say that their earthly torture would allow them access to heaven.
After speaking to her some more for awhile I told her to leave.
"Ryan, leave...you hate us, go away!" I told her.
She responded as I knew she would "No!, I'm not done"
I replied "Why don't you leave if you can't stand what were doing, why don't you flee" She didn't say anything.
So I told her "Admit it, there is something deep inside of you that really likes seeing people standing up for what they believe in"
"Yea. I do."
Open Air Preacher. I submit to you that the best way to share the Gospel to those who deny truth is to boldly stand and proclaim it.
You are a mystery to a postmodern world. When you stand in the middle of a busy shopping center, intersection, or street corner and proclaim truth to ears that don't believe in truth...they become as moths to the flame. Completely annoyed, yet strangely attracted, unable to flee from the beautiful glow.
And yes. They hate it. They despise it. But deep down, they want to stand for something. They want to be able to fight for something. It may not be God. It may not even be moral. But God can use their desire for meaning and bring them to awareness of the Truth, the only Truth which is Christ.
So please pray for Ryan. Pray that God will use our stance on God's truth to draw her to himself.