As soon as I read it, Bob popped into my mind, and I turned to Jessica and said, "Hey, when do you think was the last time old Bob had a nice fresh baked loaf of bread? I bet he doesn't get a lot of good home cooking out there in that RV all by himself." We decided that we would make him some bread within the next couple of days.
Later that day Jessica whipped together the greatest feast my stomach has ever encountered. She made baked chicken, and mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh baked rolls--I tore into that sucker like a Weight Watchers participant at Dairy Queen. Just moments after I had taken my first few bites, Jessica suggested the unthinkable.
"Hey honey," she said excitedly while she was fixing her plate, "why don't we make a plate for Bob and take it out there for him?"
I quickly responded with the most intelligible rebuttal I could muster: "Heck no! That's my chicken!"
She turned and said, "You wouldn't give that man two pieces of chicken?"
As gravy slowly dribbled down my chin I said again, "Heck no! That's my chicken!" To prove my point I gorged myself on chicken and rolls. After I ate the fifth piece of chicken I kind of quietly said to myself, "See...only enough for me."
After all of my efforts there was still one golden brown chicken thigh mocking me from the pan, but I quickly rationalized away the possibility of taking the lonely piece of chicken to Bob. I honestly felt pretty ashamed of myself later that night, but soon forgot all about it.
The next day the pastor of our church, Darren, called me and asked if I would like to help work out at the construction site of our new church building. I happily accepted and strolled onto the site the next morning. I got the opportunity to work with Bob that whole day and realized how much wisdom he had. I enjoyed hearing his stories of how God had saved his life time after time through drug overdoses and motorcycle wrecks. About midday we went to the secretary to get some checks for some of the work we had done earlier that week. While we were there Bob turned to me and asked, "Hey Mike, would you be willing to take me into town to cash my check?"
I said, "Sure Bob, I can do that for you."
Bob told some more wild stories while we drove into town and cashed our checks. Right after we had finished counting our newly acquired wealth, Bob turned to me and said, "Hey Mike, do you like chicken? I want to buy you a nice chicken dinner."
That's right. RV Bob wanted to buy me a "nice chicken dinner." He didn't want to buy me some $2.00 nachos, or a greasy dollar menu burger. He wanted to buy me a "nice chicken dinner." It was the most humbling meal I have ever eaten. We went to KFC, and he purchased a buffet for me, along with the largest drink they sold. It was an excellent meal with some excellent company. I wondered if God was trying to teach me something.
One of the most beautiful things about this whole experience was how merciful and gentle God was with me. I never once felt any condemnation from God like He was trying to give me a spanking for being so shamefully selfish. It was more like He was gently taking me to the side like a father and saying, "You see son? You've got to live a passionately generous life. This is how I created you to be. I want you to be just like me!" I can't begin to express how deeply this moment touched my life. God showed me how sweet His mercy can be to us. I've fallen in love with my God in a new way, and you'd better believe Bob is gonna be a pretty blessed man because of it.
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