God works in mysterious ways. That's an old adage that will never go stale. This weekend, I had a chance to see that firsthand. A patient of my wife's sent me an obscure message about a month ago regarding some books from his mother's library. He's an older gentleman, quite distinguished in his military service and one that likes to conversate on things that are intellectually stimulating. I was not taken aback by this offer from him to look through these books, but I almost forgot to respond.
I finally got a chance to respond and actually gave him a call this weekend. I didn't really know what was in store but when I got to his home, which was nestled back into a wooded area, I found something quite amazing. When I walked into his own home library, I found a mix of books ranging from the civil war to reptiles and amphibians. The collection that he brought back from his mother's library was astounding. There were all of these Christian books, some with notes written in them from his mother, others with little cards tucked into the pages. His offer was even more amazing...if I chose to, I could take ALL of the books home with me! His rationale was that because I was in ministry, the books would assist me more than they would assist him. We split a duplicate set of books on Hebrews and he allowed me to pick through volumes and volumes of Christian literature. It was not the books, but the content that was so amazing. His mother had to be very deep and very theological because these were heavyweight books.
As I looked through these books, and started filling paper bags with them- my friend revealed the true reason that he called me, of all people. He said that because I have spent my academic career doing something other than seminary, these books would be ideal for me to increase my theological wherewithal. My jaw dropped because I know that this was a moment directed by the Spirit of God. He didn't know of my desire to attend seminary, a desire that I have held for quite some time. He didn't know that I have always desired to increase my theological information base. All he knew was that he had to be obedient to the Spirit of God. I felt guilty taking so many books, but he reassured me that God had indeed asked him the question, "What are you going to do with the gifts that I gave you?".
All of that being said, I came home with at least $500.00 worth of books for the price of spending a few moments on a Saturday afternoon with a man that was being obedient to God. I gained so much from this experience. To listen to this man talk about God, I knew that he also was quite learned and that he spent a lot of time with God. This gave me a new found passion to know as much as possible about God- which he also intimated- at one point in the conversation, he said this: "There are going to be times when you have to answer very difficult questions and people are going to need detailed and precise information- it is possible that these things will help you with that." Another indication that this man had heard from God and was not simply doing this to get closer to his doctor, who happens to be my wife.
At the end of the day, I left enriched both spiritually and intellectually. This man added to my library and also added to my spirit. The scripture in Isaiah 55 has never been more true, when God says that His ways are not our ways. I always knew that, but Saturday confirmed it.
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