Can I Get A Witness?

Here is a classic re-post. Tell me what you think…

Like millions and millions of other people in the world I love coffee. I love the aroma of coffee. I love the taste of coffee. I enjoy it in moderation – no more than one or two cups a day, though they are big cups. I’ve been a pastor all my adult life so I have had lots of different kinds of coffee, the good the bad and the ugly.

If coffee is bad for you the verdict should have come in by now since millions and millions of people have enjoyed it for centuries on every continent on the globe. Many of the people I see enjoying coffee seem physically and emotionally healthy and they are up in years, so maybe coffee contributes to emotional stability and longevity.

Some mornings I brew my own coffee at home, other times I drive through at the Golden Arches for a cup. When I have a little more time there are a few coffee shops and bagel shops I frequent often enough to be welcomed as a regular. Last week I stopped in at Einstein Bagels in Hinsdale and was warmly greeted by a young man I had not met before.

I laid my New Testament on the table to reserve my perch in the east-facing window where I could enjoy the sunrise and watch the traffic in the village. While I was filling my cup with Einstein’s Hazelnut-Vanilla the young man said; “Are you a Christian?”

“Yes, I am,” I gladly said. “I don’t know what I would do without the Lord. I love him with all my heart.”

He said, “I’m a Christian, too. He has been so good to me.”

There we were standing at the coffee makers, both of our hearts filled with gratitude and love for Christ, trying to think of ways to express the fullness of our hearts and our satisfaction in Him. I’m a witness. Jesus has filled my heart with joy, and joy is evidence to the world that Jesus can fully satisfy the human heart. I’m not ashamed. I’ll tell the world about it.

Ken Pierpont
Brook Place
Hinsdale, Illinois
July 23, 2007