The surprise of my day today was someone who stopped by the church. This young gentleman was well-dressed and well-spoken. Our conversation eventually turned to his difficulties finding meaningful employment after college. Let's just say that things have not been easy.
I was not anticipating someone coming in to the church today. The real surprise came when he started speaking about his faith and his outlook on life.
Here is someone who has faced tremendous difficulty and is still determined to succeed and to have a good life. His outlook was astounding.
A lot of pundits on the news have been talking about jobs lately, as they should. The statistics tell of a difficult job market. Here was someone who put a face to all these statistics: another individual trying to do the best he can with what he has. I know many others like him.
I'm pretty sure he didn't know he was preaching to me today. But he was. In his situation, it would be so easy to get discouraged. Yet, there was something about this one person's faith and outlook that exuded hope. As Christians we do indeed believe in hope - in hope and in resurrection.
A passage came into my mind after this young man left the church.
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it."
Hebrews 13:2 (NRSV)
There are many surprises to my day. I'm thankful that God continues to speak to me through the faithful people I meet.