A Pepper Grinder Post

How Hard

"Will!"

Will slowly lifted his head and tried to get his eyes to focus on the stranger bending over him. Today had been a good day. Some guy in a BMW had slipped him a 20, and Will had headed straight for the liquor store. Will was feeling no pain, and his brain was meandering on the edge of consciousness.

"Will, look at me!"

Will forced his eyes to open all the way and tilted his head up. It was a guy of medium height and build, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. His face was nondescript, until Will focused on his eyes. They were dark eyes that bored into the center of his being. Once Will caught sight of those eyes, he couldn't look away. Will knew this man would instantly see through any lie he told. He realized something else: he had become immediately and totally sober.

"Will, I have an offer for you."

"I can do all kinds of work, mister. I'll do any odd jobs you have for a meal."

homeless man"No, Will. It's not that kind of offer. I own a big place far outside the city. It has forests, meadows, hills, valleys, streams, and waterfalls. You can walk all day and still be on my land. I want you to come and live there with me. I want to legally adopt you as my son."

If anyone else had said this, Will would never have believed him. Somehow, though, Will knew this stranger was telling the absolute truth. His mouth hung open for a minute, then he blurted, "What's it gonna cost me?"

The stranger didn't hesitate. "Everything."

"Look mister, all I got is on my body and in this trash bag."

"Then that's what it will cost you."

Will could feel the smile spreading across his face. He held out his hand and said, "You got yourself a deal."

The stranger smiled, too. "No, I got myself a son."

Tom Watson was washing his BMW outside his garage. He looked up and saw a stranger walking down his long driveway. At first, he felt a knot of fear, but he could see that the guy didn't look threatening. He looked like he might be in his early 40s. He was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, but he wasn't scruffy.

Tom was guessing it was a neighbor he hadn't met. He couldn't imagine it was a salesman or one of those people passing out tracts. People like that didn't usually get into his gated community.

Whoever this guy was, he seemed confident. He walked right up to Tom.

"Hi, can I help you?" Tom felt a little unsettled, for some reason.

"Hi, Tom," the stranger said, extending his hand.

Tom took the man's hand and smiled slightly, but his mind was racing. Obviously, this guy knew him, but Tom kept drawing a blank when he tried to remember where he might have met this man.

"I have an offer for you, Tom."

"You have an offer for me?" Now Tom was sure this guy was selling something, but he didn't look or act the part. For some reason, Tom couldn't stop looking at the man's eyes. He had the distinctly uncomfortable feeling that this man could see past the successful exterior he was so good at projecting.

"Yes, I do. How would you like to come and live with me? I have a beautiful place, and you could share it with me. In fact, you could become my son."

That did it. Tom no longer thought this guy was a salesman. He thought he was crazy. And yet, for some reason, there was a small part of him that wanted to say "yes." "And what would it cost me to get into this partnership with you?"

"Everything." The man said it calmly, as if this were a perfectly reasonable demand.

BMW in front of house"You want me to empty my bank accounts so I could go into business with someone I don't even know?" Why was Tom's voice getting that squeaky sound it got when he was stressed out? Why couldn't he just calmly tell this nut-case to hit the road?

"Oh no."

"I'm glad to hear that." Tom relaxed visibly.

"It will cost much more than that. All your stocks, all your bonds, your 401K, your house here, everything in it, and also that cottage on Martha's Vineyard. It would all have to go."

Tom was a very good talker, but words failed him now. He stood, looking into this man's piercing eyes, with his mouth feebly opening and closing like a fish out of water. "You can't be serious," he finally managed to croak.

"I'm totally serious. I want to be with you forever. I want everything I have to be yours. But you can't hold anything back for yourself. How about it?"

Tom stared. The longing he felt to be close to this man astonished him. Part of his brain was ready to say, "Yes." Another part of his mind kept thinking about the insanity of the offer. He had worked hard to get everything he had. Was he supposed to give it all up because some guy walked down his driveway and asked him to? It was crazy.

Finally, Tom shook his head slowly. "Look, I think you mean well, but I can't do what you're asking."

The man looked sad, but he kept looking at Tom. Eventually Tom looked away and shuffled back to his house. As Tom moved away, the man said quietly, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God."*

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Posted

*Mark 10:23, NIV

**Photo Credits: Homeless man from , BMW in front of house from .

Comments on this post:

This was a very moving piece. I would love to read more stories here!
-Elisabeth   April 7, 2018

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