Walking with Jesus is never dull!
Today I met Jesus in the restaurant in the hotel where I am staying in Bali. He was in the form of young man from Sweden who had lost his passport, wallet, money etc. Hotel staff said he wandered in off the street a bit after six this AM, looking like he was drunk or something. He was still disoriented, and did not know how he got to this place, did not even know where he was. It seems like maybe he had been drugged the night before.
At first I ignored him, and though he appoached others to tell his story, receiving no sympathy or response, he did not approach or talk to me. I remembered my purpose in life: "to be a blessing." So I sat down at his table and talked with him, or rather, listened. He was disoriented, at times lucid and at times ranting, crying.
I took him to the front desk, where they know me well, and we discussed options: police, Swedish embassy,etc. In Bali, actually there is only a Consulate, and it turns out they are only open Tuesdays and Thursdays, today is Friday. As we talked, I came to the realization that I really just wanted to get this young problem out of my life quickly, and I remembered Mother Teresa's words about seeing Jesus in disguise like this. In my mind came the question "Are you willing to go the extra mile." Actually, today, I have my own program planned, meeting friends, Bible study, visit a prison, post on this, my newly-set-up Blog site. I do not like unplanned interruptions! As I looked at the young man in distress, I came to the decision that I was in fact willing to go the extra mile for Jesus, whether all day today, or the week until my plane would depart for Hawaii.
We finally decided on calling his parents in Sweden. After the call and talk with his mother, he was calm, lucid. He said thank you very much and started out the door. I called him back, asked him where he was going, what he was going to do. He was returning to his own hotel, get some rest, and later a friend would meet him who could help him with details like money, getting a new passport, etc.
Then he was gone.
Was it an angel, sent to test me? I am convinced that if I had not made a decision to go however many miles it would take, that this afternoon I would still be in a police station or somewhere else helping him sort out what was going on, what he should do.
Walking with Jesus is never dull!
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