JACOB
I really enjoyed ministering to Jacob, the mall cop. It was Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, so every store, market, and COFFEE SHOP was closed!!! I knew it was immature, but I was still a little bitter and selfishly upset being refused my morning coffee. I usually spend my mornings seeking God’s will and preparing for the day OVER ESPRESSO....I’m a spoiled little messenger, but this is how I work best.
Anyhow, the circumstances set the stage for a bigger blessing....meeting Jacob. Once I finally gave up a useless search, I sat along a windowsill in an outdoor mall outside the Jaffa gate. I drank from two bottles, attempting to pour just the right amount of apple juice and sparkling water into my mouth. I had a strange taste for sparking cider that day. Mixing it the “old fashioned way” before swallowing. It was a horrible idea, but at least it was entertaining. I spilled a lot, especially on me.
I believe this is how I attracted Jacob’s attention. Though that wasn’t too hard, considering all the stores were closed. I wasn’t trying to and my initial attitude was a little sour. The scene lacked “danger,” and so this mall cops job was especially boring that afternoon. He approached me and asked if he could sit down. I wisely decided not to “mix” myself another drink. We talked for over two hours. He was a Christian, but he had been away from the Lord for 3 years.
He told me that he missed Jesus. When he said that I watched tears fill the thirty-year-old’s dark eyes. That’s when he strategically applied his sunglasses, which tirelessly commuted from his face to his front pocket. He told me he used to play the piano in church, he closed his eyes and mimed for me. I smiled. I could picture it. He said it was him who played, it was as if God played through Him. He said he missed praising God the most.
He was of Arab decent. He told me about how hard it was for him to obey Jesus–culturally and socially. He said his family were Christians, but that it was very lonely (hard to find friends his age) and girls were his main weakness. He “couldn’t” give them up, even though they didn’t make him happy. That and drinking. He said he couldn’t “play around with Jesus” because he loved Him too much. He couldn’t do that to Jesus. It was either Jesus or the world. Cold turkey. There was no middle ground for him. No option of lukewarm. I respected him for this, but we talked about the extremes that were outlined in his head. About the difference between enjoying alcohol responsibly and drunkenness. We also talked about intimacy in covenant... marriage, and about the pain and struggles that males and females experience while waiting.
I told him that Jesus missed him too. I repeated it a few times. Soon we were both crying. Then I felt the need to ask him about his relationship with his father. He told me that his father had beaten him, his mother and his sisters. He said his father abandoned their family for another woman, but that he chose to drive to his father’s house to forgive him time after. Instead of accepting his son’s forgiveness, his father threatened to break his legs if he ever saw him again. This experience is part of what prompted Jacob to turn away from God. I explained how God is a good Father. A perfect and loving One, in fact. Jacob was not able to forgive his father before. I told him that it was understandable, but that his unforgiveness was killing him more than it was hurting his father. We talked about the necessity of forgiveness through prayer (it was not safe or necessary for him to approach his father again) and about Jacob’s need to release the anger, pain, and bitterness he was holding on to. He also had some complaints with his old church and was really had need for Christian brothers to help support him and keep him accountable. So we prayed that God would provide the companionship he needed and I gave him the flyer I had taken from the 24/7 prayer house I attended regularly. The prayer house is swarming with young people. When we ended our conversation, he said he had not completely made up his mind, but I told him we both knew he couldn’t resist Jesus for much longer. They loved each other too much. Pray for Jacob.
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