George - 44 years old

Calgary Olympic Plaza

I want to tell you about one conversation with a man named George, 44 years old.   I met him at the Calgary Olympic Plaza watching a band set up.  George just arrived in Calgary two days ago, and though I didn’t talk to him until about 11:30, he said I was the first person who talked with him today.  

He was eager to do the questionnaire, and he told me that he was from a Roman Catholic background, but had not been active since he left home.   He said his religious background was boring as a kid, but he got inspired to go again when he had kids.  

“What one question would you like to ask God?”  I asked. 

He thought about it for a moment and then said with a chuckle, “Why am I not rich?”

“What do you think he would say?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking him.”  We both laughed.

“If God asked you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven…’ what would you say?”   I asked.  

George replied quickly, “I don’t break the law.  I don’t sin other than drink beer.  And I believe.”  

Asked how he would rate his goodness on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very evil and 10 being very good, he said proudly, “A 10!”  I thought, Hold on, let’s see what the God’s Law will do with him.   And I wasn’t surprised.  

I gave him a booklet on Christianity that explained that most people rank themselves at around a 7, to which George said, “Ooops!”   Then I went on to explain that the Bible actually teaches that it’s impossible to get to God by being good enough, like jumping the Grand Canyon.  Some will make it further than others, but all will come up short. 

I asked George if he had heard the 10 Commandments before, and he said that he had.  When asked if he has kept them, he said, “Sure.”  

“Let’s look at a few of these, George.  The 9^th Commandment says, You shall not lie.  Have you lied?” 

“No…well, if you count the few times….”

“That counts George.”  

“Have you ever stolen anything?  The 8^th Commandment says, You shall not steal.”

“No.”  

“Ever?”

“Well, yes I have stolen.”

“How about this one:  the 7^th Commandment says, You shall not commit adultery.  How about that one?”

“Oh, I’ve kept that one!” George replied a bit relieved.

“Did you know that Jesus said if you look at another person with lust, that you have committed adultery with that person in your heart?”

“Jesus said that?” he asked a little taken aback.

“Yep.”

“No one has ever told me that.”

“One more, George:  The sixth says, You shall not murder.  How about that one?”

“Nope, I’ve never murdered anyone.”

“Did you know that Jesus said that if you’re angry with another that you’ve committed murder in your heart?”

“Really?” George asked. 

“Yep.  Have you ever called anyone an idiot, or been really angry with someone?”  George nodded his head.  “That’s essentially assassinating someone in your heart.”

George replied, “No one has ever told me that Jesus said that.” 

“Yep, he did.  Now let me ask you a question, ‘If God were to evaluate your life against the 10 Commandments, do you think he’d find you innocent or guilty of breaking them?”

George thought for a moment, and as I watched his eyes, I could tell the answer was dawning on him.  “Guilty,” he said nodding.  

“George, I’ve got some bad news for you and some Good News.  Bad news first.”  I went on to explain that the reason we break God’s Law is that we are sinners, insisting on doing things our own way.  The Bible says that we are storing up wrath—justice—for ourselves.  And the ultimate judgment for those who die in their sins is eternal separation from God in hell.  Our sins separate us.   “Does that concern you that if you were to die tonight, and God the just Judge evaluates your life against the Law, that you could end up separated from him forever?”

“Yes, that does concern me.”  

“George, I told you there was some bad news and some Good News.  Do you want to hear the Good News?” 

“Yes” he said, nodding his head.  

I went on to tell him that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life; that if we judged his life according to the 10 Commandments, he would be found innocent.   In fact, Jesus said in the face of his harshest critics, Who of you can accuse me of sin?  And no one could answer.  

“Really, he said that?”  Yes he did.

I read to him John 3:16, and asked him if he had heard that verse before, and he said yes, and then said, “You know, a common mistake people make is to think that Jesus is God.”

“Well, George, Jesus was God, not God the Father, but God the Son.  You’ve heard this before, haven’t you in your Catholic background?  God is one being in three persons:  Father, Son, Holy Spirit.” 

He nodded and that seemed to satisfy him.  

Having told him the bad news and the Good News, I told him that the Scripture calls us to turn from our sin (repent) and turn to God in faith trusting in his promise to forgive all those who turn to him.  

It got a bit confusing at this point as it seemed that George still wanted to hang on to his goodness/ good works as meriting something.  He told me that whenever he passes a cross on the side of the road where someone was killed, he crosses himself and asks for a blessing.  

I told him that God calls us to trust in Him alone for our salvation and not in anything we can do.   I gave him the booklet and asked him if he’d read over it. 

“Sure.  I’m going to read through this again.   You’ve given me a lot to think about.   I’ve never thought of myself in terms of the 10 Commandments.  I’m going to have to think on all this that you have said.”  

“Fair enough,” I said.  

We talked a bit about his search for a house, his new job, and his first two days in Calgary.  

I gave him my number & email and told him to touch base with me if he needed help on anything.   I gave him a card inviting him to New City Church, and explained to him that we at NCC try to create an environment where folks from all different places spiritually can safely explore Christianity and learn more about it.  He thanked me for the invitation, and I thanked him for his kindness in speaking with me.  

I think this is a good illustration of the principle, “Law to the proud, Grace to the humble.”  George, like all of us, thinks he is pretty good when compared to others, but when we compare ourselves to the 10 Commandments, we see that we fall short.   Once the Law does it’s work, then the grace of the Gospel can come in. 

Please pray for George, that he wouldn’t trust in his own righteousness, but would run from it to Christ.  Pray that he’d be willing to receive the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus.
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Acts 10:43,  “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives the forgiveness of sins through his name.”  

Spirit, enable George to see his need for forgiveness and believe in the name of Jesus.