One Rude Student

One Rude Student

While he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. Luke 15:20

Kyle was tall and sullen, and his habit of staring over the head of anyone who tried to engage him in chitchat discouraged friendship.

One morning, a gregarious classmate seated nearby nodded in greeting, then gestured toward the philosophy text Kyle always carried.

“Which philosopher do you like best?” he asked.

Kyle merely shrugged.

When the campus Bible club invited a philosophy professor to speak, Kyle’s classmate, a regular attendee, invited him.

The day had been especially dull, and Kyle was looking for an argument, so he went. If there had been an award for rudeness, Kyle would have won. He often interrupted the speaker by throwing out the name of an opposing philosopher. Later, during the coffee hour, he ridiculed the meeting. “How can one claim intelligence while believing an archaic text?” he scoffed.

One young woman dared to challenge him. “Actually, you’re the one who’s showing ignorance,” she said. “You ridicule a book you haven’t read.” She handed him a Bible. “Here. After you’ve actually read some of it, you can express an opinion.”

Caught off guard, Kyle accepted the volume and grumpily thumbed through the pages. The study notes caught his attention, but when he realized several students were watching him, he tossed the Bible onto a nearby chair and strode out.

The following Thursday evening at the campus coffee shop, Kyle ran into his classmate, who promptly asked him to the weekend Bible conference. To the surprise of both of them, Kyle accepted.

The first session, he slumped in his seat, arms folded across his chest. The second session, he sat straighter but seemed to be studying the other attendees.

The third session, he followed along as the speaker read the account of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Suddenly, Kyle began to read ahead, excitedly flipping through the entire book of Luke. He had discovered the Bible wasn’t boring. All because someone dared to ignore his rudeness. —SANDRA

Lord, it is so much easier when I ignore rude people. Help me to remember that they need you and that they need me to be kind.

Like the father of the Prodigal Son, God can see repentance coming a great way off and is there to meet it, the repentance is the reconciliation.

—DOROTHY L. SAYERS (1893–1957), ENGLISH WRITER