Waking up in Oklahoma

Coming home from work, I stopped by the pool to see my wife & daughter. I sat down and began talking to a guy who commented on my little girls fearlessness. (She really is...)Seeing me with her reminded him of his own children, living in Texas. Anyway, we talked for quite a while, and mostly about how God had created that relationship for she and I. 2 days later he showed up at my door with a bible in one hand & a unopened beer in the other. He had questions and needed some answers. He said he hadn't slept and after 10mins, I knew that he'd been all over that book. He had great questions and prefaced everything by repeating to me that I'd told him not to change anything , but to come and see what God would change. We each have lives capable of telling a great story. Coming to this place and these questions was part of his. My friend wasn't looking for religion, he was looking for something real...and was begining to believe that was God. "What does God have for a man like me? How do you begin to see God as a father instead of a fairytale?" He said he wasn't looking for a miralce like Moses, just something real. In case you don't know, he was refering to a shepherd who could have ruled Egypt but meet God on a mountain. He was shown a bush on fire...but the the bush was not consumed by the flames. If you ever stumbled past a sunday school, you've probably heard of the burning bush. "Moses was a great man, Steve. I just want something real..." He was ready to settle for mediocrity, as long as it included him. He didn't consider that maybe God would pursue him with the same vigor with which he pursued Moses. I told him that what made Moses great was not the burning bush, but that God said," I will be with you."(-Charles Stanley) The burning bush was just an attention-getter. " You mean...it's kind've like God saying, wake the "f@*#" up...right?"
Yep. Exactly. (granted, a little less colorful, but exactly...)I told him not to change a thing...and that was where he was. The bible often refers to those who are asleep. Jesus woke a guy named Lazarus, who'd been dead for 3 days. God woke Moses on a hillside to a life of service and freedom for an entire nation. He woke me, maybe just for a conversation with a stranger. Are you awake?