Dubon

This past weekend, my family and I drove up to Atlanta.  While we were getting gas, I began talking to the attendant, Dubon.  I asked him if he could give me directions.  He asked, “To where?”  I answered, “Heaven.”  “What?” he chuckled.  I continued, “Well, you give directions to everywhere else, can you give me directions to Heaven?”  He responded, “Yeah, you just kind of caught me off guard.  You have to believe in Jesus Christ and repent.”  I said, “Yep.  Now have you done that?”  He said, “Yes. I go to church up the road from here.”  Then I said, “That’s awesome. Now, are you living the life Christ has called you to live?” He answered, “Like I said, I do go to church.”  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you are going to church, but it’s more than just attending church.  Jesus Christ has called us to be his disciple.  You’ve heard that word in the church haven’t you?”  Dubon responded, “Yeah.”  I continued, “Well, the word disciple means ‘learner,’ or ‘someone who takes what they learn and put it into practice. Are you practicing what you learn at church?  You see it’s like working here at the gas station and then taking your paycheck, ripping it up, and throwing it away.  You wouldn’t do that, would you?  Going to church, but not putting into practice what you learn, is like working here, but throwing away your paycheck.  It’s almost like wasting your time and the time you spend at church is, therefore, not worth much.”  Dubon replied, “You know, I’ve never really thought about it that way.  That actually makes a lot of sense.” We parted and Dubon thanked me for taking the time to talk to him.