by Black, Chuck
“I’d like to start with prayer. Does anyone have any requests we can take to the Lord?” Devin scanned the students and waited.
Drew sat and listened as four different students asked for prayer for a sick mother, a brother struggling with alcohol, a friend trapped in homosexuality, and a car that wouldn’t start even with a jump and she had no extra money to get it fixed. Then everybody lowered their heads, and Devin prayed.
This was … weird!
Drew’s family never talked about things like church, religion, or God. They just weren’t a part of his life. Anything he knew about God came from Hollywood, and he was pretty sure they didn’t have it right. He agreed with Ben, though—religion was a crutch for people who had a hard time dealing with reality. It was just a bunch of man-made, superstitious rituals and beliefs.
Drew reasoned that science refuted religion, but man’s own history was also evidence against such superstitions because of all the different religions throughout the ages, from the Romans to the Greeks, the Egyptians to the Babylonians, and even on up to the hundreds of religions throughout the world today. How could any one of them even be close? The sheer number of religions both now and in ages past was a testimony to Drew as to how ludicrous it all was.
If he had to categorize himself, Drew guessed he fit best with the agnostic atheists: he didn’t believe in God, but then, the existence of such a being was unknowable anyway.
He glanced around the room, allowing himself a slight shake of the head. He was uninformed where religion was concerned, and he preferred it that way. Why would he want to be part of a group of people who were so ignorant of the facts of life?
Drew spent the time Devin was praying to prepare his mind for the assault of illogical dialogue that was sure to follow. If Sydney was indeed deceived by this stuff, then perhaps he needed to move on after all.
Devin finished his prayer and looked around. He seemed hesitant. He opened his Bible and held his notes before him for a few moments, but folded them up and tucked them in the back of his Bible. He looked troubled, then relaxed.
“I’m not sure why, but the Lord is leading me in a different direction than what I’ve prepared today.” Devin took a deep breath. “So please bear with me since none of what we will be discussing and studying is planned. The world is a confusing place today. For example, there are many religions, all claiming to teach spiritual truth. One might look at that and say this is evidence that there is no God and no truth at all.”
Drew started. He looked over at Sydney—had she warned Devin about him? But no … that wasn’t possible. He’d never shared any of his beliefs—or lack thereof—with her. No one other than Ben or maybe Jake knew what he thought about religion. And yet … he felt singled out, like he was the only one sitting in that room.
“Every tribe, culture, and civilization, both present and past, has had a set of religious beliefs to which they hold. I put before you that this is not evidence against the existence of God but rather evidence for the existence of God and His truth. It is overwhelming testimony, from one corner of the world to the other, to the fact that people are more than just physical beings. We are all on a quest to discover the creator God.”
Drew sat back against his chair. This guy had to be reading his mind. It was plain freaky, and it wasn’t fair … using his own argument against him.
“Listen.” Devin leaned forward in his chair, almost seeming to sense Drew’s retreat. “It’s the unseen things of this world that are the most important. Would you agree?”
That was just ridiculous! Drew almost voiced a protest, when one of the other guys spoke up.
“How do you figure that? Most of our time and energy is spent on very real, tangible things. How can unseen things be more important than what we experience right now?”
Finally, someone else with some reasoning abilities.
Devin nodded. “Okay. Think about our men and women who serve in the armed forces. They have taken an oath to defend our nation. What are they fighting for? Why have they pledged to give their lives? What have so many before us died for?”
The room fell silent. Drew’s mind filled with the picture sitting on his desk right now—his dad in military uniform, arm around Drew’s twelve-year-old shoulders. Drew was so proud of his dad, and he had ached to feel his dad’s strong arm across his shoulders a thousand times. He had asked his mother that very question: “Why did my dad have to die?”
But he knew the answer.
“Freedom.”
The word escaped Drew’s lips before he realized he had spoken it.
“Drew’s right.” Devin straightened. “The unseen, profoundly important right we call freedom. You can’t touch it, see it, or feel it, and yet it is so important that the noble and the courageous are willing to lay down their lives to protect and preserve it.”
Devin let his words stew for a minute; then he opened his Bible and flipped to a place near the back.
“Hebrews 11:1 says that ‘faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ You see, all the religions of the world are evidence that the unseen spiritual world does exist and that God is drawing people to Himself. The problem is that we have messed it up with false beliefs and doctrines. And in addition to that, the enemy of God, Satan, has used religion to confuse the world about God and His love for us. But God gave us an answer: there is only one true faith, and God sent His only Son to earth to show us the way. Jesus Christ said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ”
Drew fought the frustration crawling through him. His logic was breaking down, and he didn’t like it.
“Just as so many have died to give us freedom on earth, Jesus Christ died to give us eternal freedom. He died to set us free from sin and death. True freedom requires sacrifice.”
Drew stared at his shoes, but it felt like Devin was staring right at him. He glanced up to catch him—but that wasn’t the case at all. Still, he didn’t like the way he was feeling. When he had agreed to stay, he never thought he’d have to think these things and go through the sorrow over his dad again. He fidgeted. Time for this to be over.
He stayed silent through the rest of the study and spent most of the time trying to refute Devin’s earlier statements. He saw Sydney look over at him every few minutes, probably to see how he was doing. He tried not to look too ill at ease, but not too interested either. He would catch a waft of her perfume from time to time, which reminded him why he was there.
This was about a girl. Not God.
By the time Devin finished thirty minutes later, Drew had reestablished his mind-set and logic. Devin asked if anyone had any questions. Drew didn’t. What he had were rebuttals, so best to remain silent. He had to admit, though, that Devin had used some fair arguments that Drew had never thought about before. Even so, Devin was trying to move a mountain with a spoon. There was too much scientific evidence, reason, and logic to overwhelm the crafty arguments of a bright college kid. That mind-reading trick at the beginning was pretty weird, but it was nothing more than a bizarre coincidence.
Devin ended with a reminder about their Tuesday night worship and invited all to come. Then someone turned on music as they ate again and just hung out and talked. Devin made a point of talking to Drew for a bit. He’d expected to be harangued, but Devin asked questions about his family and home, talked a little about campus, thanked him for coming, and moved on.
Sydney made her way over to Drew, a Coke in one hand and a napkin with three Pizza Rolls in the other.
“How are you doing?” She studied his eyes.
“I’m all right. It wasn’t too bad.” He snatched one of her Pizza Rolls and popped it in his mouth.
“Aah!” He opened his mouth to cool the burning sauce that squirted out of the Pizza Roll with his first bite.
“Ooh … yeah.” Sydney offered her Coke. “Those were just nuked.”
“Ah cahn tahl,” Drew mumbled. He accepted th
e Coke and took a quick drink of its cold contents. Relief came immediately.
“Ah … that’s better.” But he could tell his mouth was going to blister.
“Well,” Sydney said, “a deal’s a deal. So which coffee shop am I treating you to?” She flashed him a smile.
“Ben and I often go to the Mystic Blend, just off campus on Twelfth. It’s pretty good. Would that work for you?”
“Sure. I have class until two, but then I’m free.” She put her hands in her back pockets and gave a quick shrug.
She’s nervous. Odd. “I have class until three. Shall we say three thirty?”
“Sounds good. I’ll be there.”
Drew noticed that the other students in the study were starting to leave. “I’m looking forward to it. Guess I’d better finish my calc homework.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a paper due tomorrow, and I’ve put it off too long already,” she said.
Drew turned to leave.
“Hey,” Sydney called.
He turned back to her.
“I know it wasn’t all that comfortable for you, but thanks for coming.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “Thanks for the invite.”
On the way back to his dorm, Drew stopped in and talked to Ben for a few minutes. He told him what had happened and about his coffee date with Sydney the next day.
“Dude, I’m telling you, she may be a nice girl and all, but she is going to mess with your mind.” Ben leaned back on his chair until it rested up against his desk behind him. “That Bible study, or whatever it was you just sat in on, should have told you that already.”
“Yeah, I know.” Drew rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’ll find out tomorrow just how … messed up she really is.” Drew shook his head. “She’s got some kind of magical powers or something.”
Ben started laughing.
“What?” He looked for something to throw at Ben.
Ben waved his hand in front of him like a Jedi knight. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
Drew grabbed a dirty shirt from Ben’s bed and whipped it at him.
THE NEXT DAY, Drew made it to the coffee shop at 3:22, picked a table, and waited for Sydney. A few minutes later, she walked in the door, spotted him, and came directly over to take a seat. As usual she was dressed to a T, with perfect hair, makeup, and stylish clothes.
He eyed her. “How’d the paper turn out?”
“Okay, I think. I’ve written better, but it should be all right. How about your calculus homework?”
“Went good. It’s still review material so far anyway. The Calc I took last year did a good job preparing me.” Drew looked toward the counter. “Shall we?”
They ordered, and Drew refused to let Sydney pay, even after multiple petitions. They sat down, and Drew could tell Sydney was a bit nervous again. She looked at him, gave a quick smile, and then stared at her coffee.
“Drew, there are a few things I need to tell you—”
“Whoa!” Drew held up his hand. “Just one minute. Last night was your turn and today is mine.”
Sydney looked at him and exchanged her serious look for a lighthearted one. “Yes … I suppose you are right. It’s only fair. You’re on.”
Drew took a deep breath.
“Seriously, I’ve been trying to find out things about you for two years. You eluded me in high school until I started wondering if you belonged to some secret cult or something.”
Sydney nodded and opened up her hands. “I’m here. What do you want to know?”
Drew didn’t know where to start. There were a thousand things he wanted to ask her.
“Okay … do you belong to a secret cult?”
Sydney laughed out loud. “I suppose that depends on your perspective, but no … no, I don’t.”
“Then how come I never saw you in school except during Speech, ’cause I looked.”
Sydney sighed. “I was homeschooled.”
“Get out! You seem so … normal.”
Sydney smirked. “Gee, thanks.”
Drew tried to recover. “That’s not what I mean.”
“I know what you think you mean. Maybe your version of normal isn’t what it ought to be. Anyway, Speech was something my parents felt was impossible to replicate at home so I took one class at the high school.”
Drew tried to fit Sydney into his stereotypical homeschool mold, and she just didn’t fit. Never did he ever think he would be attracted to a homeschooled girl, but that also explained some of the religious stuff. He would get to that later.
“What are you majoring in?”
“Microbiology.”
“I knew you were smart. Tell me about your family.”
Drew peppered her with dozens of questions. He loved hearing her voice and watching her expressions. When an hour had passed, he knew their time was running out.
“I have two more questions. Do you have a boyfriend, and will you go out with me?”
Sydney’s gaze dropped to her coffee. “That’s what I need to tell you.” Her voice lost its cheery edge.
“Okay.” This didn’t sound good.
“But first may I ask you a question?”
“You can ask as many as you like,” Drew said. He wasn’t ready for their coffee date to be over.
“I’m sure you’ve figured out that my faith is important to me. I’d like to know what you believe about God, and specifically about Jesus Christ.”
Drew sat back and took a sip of his coffee.
“Well, I have to admit that I’m not on board with all that stuff that Devin talked about last night at your Bible study.”
He saw her eyes sadden.
“Do you really believe all that stuff, Sydney … Really?”
“Yes, Drew, I do … I really do.”
Drew shook his head. “It’s so … fabricated … so far-fetched. I mean, how can you believe that stuff when all of science and the scientists of the modern day refute it? Besides that, if there was a God, how come this world is in such a mess with millions of people starving and dying? That’s not a god I want to have anything to do with.”
Sydney flinched as if he had insulted her, so he stopped. He had a long list of reasons why he didn’t believe in God, but he had never seen her so sad.
“I suppose you’re going to try and convince me otherwise,” Drew said in a hushed voice.
Sydney slowly shook her head. “No, that’s not my job; that’s the Lord’s job. My job is to pray for you.” She fidgeted with her coffee cup and then carved something into the Styrofoam with her thumbnail. “Drew, I’m sorry, but this is the last time I can meet with you like this.”
She raised her eyes until she was staring right into his. As lovely as they were, they were serious, and his heart sank.
“Hey, people disagree about religion all the time. It doesn’t mean they can’t be friends or enjoy each other’s company.”
“It’s more than that, Drew.”
“I don’t understand then … You just don’t like me?” He tried not to sound too hurt. All this time he had convinced himself that she was just playing hard to get.
“No, that’s not it at all.” Sydney turned her head to look out the window for a moment, then recaptured his eyes. “It’s actually just the opposite.”
Drew reached across the table and touched her hand.
She smiled nervously and eased her hand away. “You may not understand this, but I am bound by my faith in Christ to not become involved with someone who doesn’t share my beliefs.”
Drew pulled his hand back across the table. He knew her religion was important to her, but he hadn’t realized it might dictate her actions. It was rather ironic that all along he had been thinking that he might not want to date her because of her religion. He’d never considered the possibility that her religion might cause her to not date him.
“I really like you, Sydney. I was hoping we could spend some time together … at least as friends.”
She blinked and t
urned away for a moment. “I … like you too, Drew, and that’s the problem. It wouldn’t stay as just friends between us, and I’d be more conflicted about this”—she pointed to the two of them—“than I already am. I have to protect my heart, and things like this make that very hard to do. You’re a great guy and there are so many things about you that I really like, but …”
She didn’t need to finish.
“I can’t fake that I believe what you want me to believe.”
“And I wouldn’t want you to. You must be true to yourself, just as I must be to me.”
Drew’s gaze fell to the table. “From the first day you smiled at me, I’ve wanted to know you better, and now I know why.”
Hope filled her features. “Why?”
“Because it’s in our human nature to want most what we can’t have. I think deep down I knew this would never work, so it was all the more tempting to try for it.”
Sydney’s countenance fell. “What you’re really seeking isn’t me, Drew. It’s what’s in me.” Her eyes seemed to look straight into his soul.
“You say the strangest things …” Drew lifted his cup to his lips and swallowed the last bit of coffee, then sighed. Sydney looked beautifully sad. She slid out of her chair and stood up. Drew stood with her.
“I guess I’ll see you around then.”
She bit her lip. “Yeah … I guess so.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a pen, then grabbed his hand. Her soft, warm fingers eased his palm open. He watched her sandy hair droop down as she wrote something and then closed his fingers and held them tight. She was sure making their good-bye difficult.
“What you need, Drew, is right here.” She wrapped both of her hands around his closed fist, smiled … and walked away.
Drew opened his hand. “John 3:16” was written across his palm. He knew it was a reference to the Bible, but he didn’t know what it said. Something dark skittered up his spine. The last time a girl wrote something on his hand …
Disaster followed.
He looked up and watched as Sydney walked by the front window of the coffee shop.
That was it.