His name was John. He had wild hair, wore a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He was brilliant. Kind of esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.
Across the street from the campus was a well-dressed, very conservative church. They wanted to develop a ministry to the students, but were not sure how to go about it. One day John decided to go there. He walked in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The sermon had already started, so John started down the aisle looking for a seat. The church was completely packed and he couldn't find a seat.
The people were beginning to look a bit uncomfortable, but no one said thing. John got closer and closer to the pulpit. When he realized there were no seats he just squatted down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!) By now the people were really uptight, and the tension in the air was thick.
About this time the minister realized that a deacon was slowly making his way toward John from the back of the church. The deacon, in his eighties, had silver-gray hair, a three piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walked with a cane, and as he started walking toward this boy, everyone was saying to themselves, "You can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?"
It took a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church was utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes were focused on him. You couldn't even hear anyone breathing. The people were thinking, "The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do."
They then saw this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowered himself and sat next to John to worship with him so he wouldn't be alone. Everyone choked up with emotion. When the minister gained control he said, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."
"Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" 1 Cor. 13
