Throwback: On Lessons From Sonny

August 5, 2008, I was driving from the Dollar General, when I saw a man who looked homeless walking. He was wearing shoddy clothes and a long sandy/salty beard. He walked toward the store as I drove off and in my spirit, the tug-of-war began (Matthew 25:34-40 below).

A little personal spiritual context – I had recently been dealing with communicating with strangers about God. I felt like I was a Christian, but needed to express myself to others openly. Being a Christian is more than just being a nice person, it is about stepping up and standing out for Christ. Faith is ACTIVE - faith travels.

SO, I drove to the end of the parking lot, looked in the rearview mirror, and….. put the car in park. I could not drive away. As I looked at the man, I couldn’t leave. It was like a magnet was preventing me from pulling away. I must have sat there five minutes, talking to God and trying to come up with a reason NOT to turn around, when I came to the realization that I was going to do this. This was my moment of truth – it wasn’t a matter of being uncomfortable, I just had to turn around and (gulp) do it. Then, a funny thing happened. I looked in the mirror again and the man was walking toward me! He was walking directly toward where I was parked. So, I quickly reversed into a parking spot in order to get out of the car. As soon as he was walking past the car, I got out and said hello…

To my surprise, he smiled and said “Hello, how are you?” This began my conversation with my unexpected friend, Sonny. His first words after that were “No one does that anymore. No one stops, smiles, and just says hello anymore.” It was a refreshing statement that took me back a minute. Sonny continued, “We have a great Creator. He has given us all we have. It’s just a matter of us listening to Him and hearing what He tells us. Most people don’t do that. Most people let the words come in their ears, but it gets stuck there. The people who get it, get it in their hearts.” Wow, I thought to myself. Lord, what am I supposed to say to this man?

As Sonny spoke, his smile was honest and his sincerity was unarming. We stood and talked for twenty minutes about many things, but mainly about him. He talked of his love for animals (deer, raccoons, and even skunks!), his meeting with the Dalai Lama (he touched Sonny in a Bloomington gas station on Sonny’s 50th birthday), and the documentary that was done by an anthropology student on his life (it won a prize here in town and a sequel is being filmed). Near the end of our conversation, I realized that God had sent me to this place to learn some valuable lessons...

1) Sonny had come to witness to me, not I to Him. He had shown me the goodness of God and His presence in all places and all people. 2) He showed that because someone looks unkempt does not mean that they automatically need something from me. Maybe I need something from them. 3) Finally, being a Christian doesn’t mean I always have the ‘solution’ for everything. It simply means I have access to a God who does.






God is in everyone and wants us to seek fellowship with His creation. He just needs us to be available to be used. He is simply waiting for us, as Sonny would say, to say “Yes.” That yes gives Him the opportunity to show us new things and new ways of knowing Him. That yes lets Him know we are available and submitted. It is my prayer that these lessons from Sonny empower all to say Yes again and again.




Learning,






-j.a.g.















Matthew 25:34-40 (New Living Translation)

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.

35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.

36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?

38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?

39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’