The Bully

Kent Smith, in a video with Tom Wadsworth related a tale from his youth.

The school bully came to him, at age 17, when a young Christian, and asked "Do you believe in God?" 

Kent replied in the affirmative. And the bully responded:

"Then why did God let my brother die in Vietnam [the now forgotten war of the USA and allies against communist incursions into South Vietnam, See David Hackworth About Face]?" Kent had no answer.

How would you have responded in short form to this? At age 17?

Yep, not!

I'm sure you as I, were not taught to answer the 7 basic questions people have of Christians, and in the three forms: elevator pitch (short), a couple of sentences (medium), and a conversation (as long as you like).

Here's what I would have liked to have been able to say:

Yeah, man. That's bad. You know why its bad? We all die, and that's bad too.

We are part of the world that has cut off from its Creator. We don't want him. So here we are in a world of corruption and decay cut off from its Creator: its degraded and we think we love it!

There's only one way out of it and that's to re-unite with our Creator.

Tough call eh? Our pride won't do it for us. It's got to come from the Creator.

[maybe he asks a question here, but you need to get to:]

That's why he came to us in Jesus of Nazareth.

So you want a renewed life? You, like me. We do one thing: Reject our pride and flip to Jesus.

He's the only way out (of hell), because he's the only way in (to life).

Maybe that would start a conversation, maybe it would provide food for thought, maybe it would 'put a stone in his shoe'. But that's how it is.