Knowing is Half the Battle

Earlier this week, I was on my way to the bus stop when lo-and-behold, the bus passed right in front of my eyes. I thought to myself, "Great, now I have to wait another 20 minutes!" I breathed deeply and sat down to wait for the next bus. A few minutes later, a strange man came limping to the bench. He sat down next to me. His face was distraught and his clothes were covered in blood.

"I got ran over by a car a few hours ago. I just came back from the hospital but I can't stay there. I have to take care of my mother. She is all alone at home," he said. Of course, being a bit skeptical I analyzed this. I thought, "This can't be true. I mean, how did he get to the bus stop from the hospital?" As soon as I was about to speak, my spirit said, "Be quiet and listen." At that moment, the man spoke. He told me that he had been with some friends crossing the street when a car hit him, dragging him through the asphalt. Consequently, his head was badly scraped, had a couple of broken ribs and a fractured wrist. Interestingly, I found myself confirming his story by scanning his bruises. Indeed, he had fresh scrapes all over his head, his wrist was in a cast and some of his fingers were covered in blood and what looked like dirt or asphalt. Also, he was leaning on one side as if his ribs were hurting him. He started crying. He said, "I can't believe this is happening. Last year, I had a car accident and broke my foot. That foot is now half-titanium, half-bone. I don't get it, I am a good man." As he continued to speak, I learned that he had been married to a Jewish woman for 17 years but unfortunately got divorced two years ago. Since then, he had dealt with bankruptcy, car accidents and losing his job.

Before I got around to ask him anything, the bus arrived. I decided to help him climb the stairs. Once inside, everyone stared at the man with disgust. Some, even had the nerve to stand up and move as far away from him as possible. The only people near the man were the bus driver and myself. The bus driver saw the man and immediately spoke to him. After hearing the man's story, the bus driver said, "You are lucky to be alive." Out of sympathy, the bus driver gave the man a free bus pass so he could get home. Instantly, the man began to cry and said, "Everyone has told me that. Praise Jesus!"

Once the bus arrived to the train station, the man climbed out. I wasn't sure what to do so I asked for his name. "Billy, my name is Billy," he said. I began to think but almost immediately found myself going through my bag. I lifted from it the only money I had, a five dollar bill and handed it to him. I told him to use the money to buy a train ticket to the nearest stop from his home and to use the bus pass to get to his final destination. The man gave me a hug and thanked me. He indicated that he wasn't sure if the bus pass would be enough for him to get home. I accompanied him to the ticketing booth where he got a one-way ticket to his nearest train stop. As we went down the escalators, Billy said, "I am a soldier for God. What doesn't break me makes me stronger, right?" I nodded. Soon after, the train arrived. He smiled, thanked me, and got on the train.

To this day, I don't know whether the man was telling the whole truth or not. What I do know was that I was in no position to assume or even judge him (Romans 2:1). I know that as a Christian I had to love him just as Jesus loves His Church (I Corinthians 13). I think what motivated me to help Billy was that I also understood that knowing is only half the battle. The other half of the battle is to put into practice His Word because otherwise we begin to deceive ourselves (James 1:23-24).

I pray that Billy can see past his troubles to see the glory that God was showing him through the kindness of strangers. I pray that he continues to find the blessings that God will manifest in his life so that he can someday help others as well.