Oh, and they were all set to have interesting philosophical debates on morals and ethics and politics and stuff, they really were. But then Sam passed out instead. Luke sighed.
Sighed, and tried to avoid the advances of a couple ladies-for-hire who were calling to him from the left side of the bus! They had full figures and empty eyes, and their willingness was strangely tempting. But Luke did the smart thing, like Jenny had taught him, and avoided temptation by sitting down on the opposite side of the bus, all alone by the window marked Emergency Exit. It might come to that, he reflected.
He considered taking out his Bible to read. For encouragement, and to fly the flag, to stake out his spiritual turf for the others to see. He was still trying to calculate what might happen, and what risks were involved--would they throw him out? If so, would he be giving up a free ride south, or making it possible for that first bus to find him again? Then there came a commotion, which disturbed his contemplation.
The partiers were all crowding towards the back of the bus, trying to look out the windows at something humorous. “No way!” “They are!” Someone called the news up to John the Driver, “Hey boss, that other bus is coming after us!”
Rather than fight the crush at the back, Luke simply lowered his own window and leaned his nose out a little, looking backwards. Sure enough, there was Hammer’s Rainbow Colored Bus to Glory, closing in! When they saw Luke wave, they might even have sped up a little.
John could have just stopped for a second, traded passengers, and been done with it. That easy. But it was more fun this way... “Bus Chase!” he announced, and stepped on the gas. The Bus to Glory got close, but then the Bus to Nowhere reached full speed and began to pull away. There was a loud cheer from the drunks! They taunted out the windows as they put more and more distance between them.
“Hey, what’s with those guys?” John finally wondered. “Can their bus really be that slow? Or their driver that cautious?” Neither one, actually. Hammer was trying to make a good chase of it, but every time he exceeded the posted speed limit by very much, a great hue and cry would go up from all the good and proper Christians. Shouts of “Lawbreaker! Reprobate! Miscreant! and Sinner!” No one wanted to be a bad witness by breaking laws and engaging in reckless and dangerous behavior. So it wasn’t much of a chase, I’m afraid. Hammer pouted out his bottom lip and looked sad, and diligently drove 55 as ordered.
John tried to make it interesting for a while. Kept slowing down and letting Hammer catch up a little, before racing away again. The drunks loved the drama, and laughed every time they saw that rainbow bus fall back. Also it gave them a chance to drop their pants and moon their pursuers. (How dignified we all are.)
Luke briefly considered opening the ‘Emergency Exit’ and going out that window when John slowed down, but better sense prevailed. It’s not there to cause emergencies, after all.
After teasing their pursuers and then speeding away again three or four times, the game lost its fascination, and the Bus to Nowhere simply sped up and left the Bus to Glory in its dust. Then John drove onto the shoulder and took out a few road signs, bing bing bing, to at least make it feel like a little-bit-wild chase. They fishtailed a little getting back on the pavement, and then there was applause for the driver and the chase was finished. The drinkers went back to their drinking, and the bus rolled on into the falling night. Sad Luke sighed and shrugged, and tried to tune them out and take a nap.
The bus finally stopped a couple hours later, in darkness, along the roadside. The girls ran over a burm into the bushes to pee, and the men all just hung it out on the shoulder, making a little contest out of it. The last man standing won a free beer, and John’s commendation: “Hey, not bad duration, on that urination.”
The stop woke Luke up and he blinked and looked around and remembered where he was, and then hung his head again, and tried to discern why this had happened to him. Returning to the parable that had crossed his mind on the first bus, he found that it continued, ‘When any one heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside.’ He got a fright remembering the name of the grocery store where he had last left the Bus to Glory! So maybe this part of the parable applied to him too? “True, I didn’t completely understand the ‘word of the kingdom’”, Luke reflected. And certainly this riotous and unruly Bus to Nowhere felt like it might be Satan’s attempt to snatch people away! From the things that matter. From spirituality. From God.
There was a flicker of woe, but then Luke was comforted, as another Bible verse came to mind, to counter the first: ‘My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.’ So the attempt would fail, Luke would stay safe!
As for understanding? “I don’t understand perfectly, but I understand this:” Luke affirmed, “That God rules all things, and that Jesus Christ came to redeem us, because God loves us!” A thrill of joy, even here in the darkness, to remember the truth.
Then the moment passed, and Luke’s discomfort returned, as the wild crowd boarded again, and a new reveler took the empty seat beside Luke. So this was what had prompted the particular timing of their roadside stop: they had picked up a hitchhiker.
Might as well make a little conversation, try to be pleasant, Luke decided. This man was drunk too, and fit right in with the others. At least that was Luke’s first impression. “So, have you been celebrating something?” Luke asked the drunken hitchhiker.
“Yop.” He stopped right there, and made Luke ask what. Then he answered, “Celebratin’ bein’ happy.”
Luke grinned, Good one. But then he grew concerned, coz that was a pretty broad mandate for drunkenness. “So do you always drink like this?” Luke wondered.
“Nope.” That relieved Luke a little, until the hitchhiker lurched on again: “Only when I’m awake.”
There was a lull in their conversation for a while, which was okay by Luke. This guy didn’t seem to have too much to offer, and Luke wasn’t sure how to give anything to him either. He seemed pretty comfortable with his own ways, after all. Then all of a sudden, a propos of nothing, the hitchhiker blurted out a question: “What’s the first thing you think about every morning?”
Luke was cautious, not sure where that was leading. Had to answer though, so he tried to think about it, and answered honestly. “Sometimes I used to think about taking a bath, or getting some breakfast or something. Then I might think about getting to whatever I had to do that day, like school, or work. Why?” An innocuous enough answer, Luke thought-- then was startled by the hitchhiker’s response.
“Jesus Christ. He’s the first thing you should think about every morning. He’s the most important thing... He’s the only thing,” the man amended. Then sat silent again.
Luke nodded some agreement. Oh yes, you’re right. That kind of thing. But inside, he was blown away. Like the meeting with his father, but to a higher degree: here was someone Luke should have been ahead of, teaching him! There was guilt and shame for a moment, but then there came joy and resolve: “This is why God put me on this bus! To hear a message I needed to hear. And to see a weak witness wax strong. If this guy can do it...”
Luke grinned and thanked the drunken hitchhiker, who was just getting up to leave anyway. The hitchhiker in turn thanked the driver for taking him those last few miles towards home. They shook hands and he tumbled out into the night.
The first thing Luke did after that was take out his Bible and start a-readin’. That was a good start, he felt stronger already. But should he go further, and sit down and share the gospel with some other poor soul? He wasn’t sure where to sit, whom to reach, how to start.
Instead he smiled, as the right one came to him.
She was a very attractive young blonde named Julie, couldn’t have been much more than 19, and she slid into the seat beside him. Very beautiful, though frail and delicate and kind of sad-looking; she was also
very pleasant and interesting. Somewhat drunk and very friendly, she gave Luke a hug and told him he was beautiful, which was a first for him, decent-looking though he was. It turned out that he reminded her of somebody else, but all the same her kindness was welcome. They talked for a while, Luke asking how long the party had been raging. Julie said she had joined it a few weeks ago, and had no idea; as far as she knew, it might have been going since the beginning of time. People came and went as their money or their interest allowed, and the bus left a trail of survivors scattered across the country, some going Wow, others going What-was-I-thinking?
Luke asked, bluntly and unaware, what exactly the point was. Julie told him it was fun, but she admitted that it was wearing a little thin and maybe it was time to get on with her life. “I’m having fun,” she said, “but I think if I slow down I’ll last a lot longer, and I’ll be able to have fun for a lot more years.”
Luke thought that was about the most practical justification for moderation that he had heard. And an appropriate time to add a wise quote, “Moderation is the key.” That was a well-known saying in Hun-Country, though usually they would shout it out as humor, in the midst of indulging to excess! It made Luke feel good to actually say it the way it was meant to be said. Like he was setting some small thing right.
“Whatcha reading?” Julie wanted to know.
Luke took his cue from the Man of God, so long ago, who had advised him to begin with the Gospels. So he skipped to that, asking Julie, “Have you ever heard of Jesus Christ?”
Luke was getting all ready to tell the story, when Julie chirped happily, “Of course. I’m a believer. Used to even go to church and everything.”
This time Luke hit her with Bert’s question: “ ‘Even the demons believe, and tremble’--A better question is, Do you worship Him?”
Julie seemed a little insulted. “Do you think just because I have a few drinks, and have a little fun, that I can’t be a Christian?”
Luke hadn’t meant to give offense, but he wasn’t about to back down from what he had said, either. He noticed she hadn’t really answered the question. “It’s not for me to decide what you can and can’t do, or how much you can get away with and still be called a Christian. It’s up to you, (‘For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged’), to answer certain questions for yourself: Does this help me? Am I closer to God through this, or farther away? Am I a better witness for Christ by choosing these actions?”
Julie blushed suddenly, and looked guilty, ashamed and forlorn. It was clear that this was the first time she had thought about things like that. “I was just trying to have a little fun is all,” she muttered apologetically.
“No harm in that,” Luke reassured her, “But why not have fun with us? Singing songs, clapping hands, praising God, talking about all his wonderful blessings and promises...don’t you think that could be fun too?131 To realize that the infinite God who made the whole universe cares about you personally, and will freely give you eternal life in His Kingdom? What earthly joy could compare to that!”
It sounded good to Julie, but after her inside-answers to the previous questions, Julie was still feeling very wicked and unworthy. Luke almost scoffed. What little sins of hers could compare to the wars and murders of his own youth? But Luke thought better of intruding his own story. This was about Julie’s desire to come to God! If she felt separated by her sins, what greater relief, Luke remembered, than to repent of one’s sins? “All you need to do is repent, and ask God for forgiveness! Is there any limit to His mercy?” Luke grew excited, promising, “Then you can ‘walk in newness of life’, living for God! What wonders will begin for you then!” Then Luke finished by repeating the Man of God’s first invitation, smiling first at the irony of this role reversal, and then smiling even wider when he realized it wasn’t irony, but progress. “Come and see....”
There were lights from a town up ahead. Luke figured the bus would probably stop to find a bar anyway, but he wanted to get her away from the distractions, the peer pressure, so she could continue to think clearly. Also Luke didn’t want her to just pile off the bus with everyone else on their way to the bar. He wanted it to be an act of choosing, of deliberately leaving this Bus to Nowhere. So he said quietly, like a hint towards what she should do, “There’s a town up ahead. We could find a place for you to stay. Get some sleep. Clear your head. And we could probably find a church for you there in the morning.” Luke was surprised by how quickly Julie reached up and pulled the cord. A ding alerted the driver, and John drifted to the roadside and let them off. Julie exited first, and then Luke was about to follow when he stopped, and made a last attempt to inform the rest of the revelers as well. “Jesus Saves!” he shouted, before he left. There was laughter--most of them thought it was a gag. There were chants of “Luke! Luke! Luke!” from those who thought he was going into the woods with the beautiful blonde for amorous purposes. But someone else realized he was serious, and threw a beer can out the window at them as the bus pulled away.
As soon as the bus was gone, Julie let out her breath, like a sigh. At first Luke feared it was a sigh of sadness, at seeing her ride roll on without her. Then he realized it was a sigh of relief, when she said one lone word, “Free.” They held hands innocently (sometimes she would squeeze it so tightly!) and walked towards town, as the cool night air cleared her head, and she asked frightened questions about her future, and Luke comforted her. When they reached the sleepy town of Trammelmaris they shook their heads at the party bus parked outside of Stu’s Drinking Shack. And they grinned as they marked the location of a Grace of Life worship house instead.
Then they went to the hotel. Luke took out the last of his “Emergency Money”, since this seemed to qualify. He gave the desk clerk a kryptonite coin to pay for a room and a continental breakfast for Julie. Then he pressed the silver coin into Julie’s palm and instructed her: “This is for the offering plate at church tomorrow. Some people are ashamed to go empty-handed.” (He thought sadly of his own unpursued curiosity back in college. How much less shameful it now seemed to disappoint a church in the matter of a few coins, than to defraud God in the eternal worship of the heart!) “I just don’t want that to stand in your way. Don’t let anything stand in your way!”
“But you won’t go with me?” Julie was disappointed, and a little scared.
“I won’t need to. I’m going to pray with you tonight! After you manage that, the rest will come natural I think.” Pleased, Julie made as though she would lead Luke up to her room to pray. But Luke resisted that peril, and chose a quiet corner, right there in the lobby, instead.
On their knees together, Luke took another appropriate prayer straight out of the Bible. Remembering that his first confession had been given to Hosanna, this time he gave it right to God! “‘God have mercy on me a sinner.’” Equal before an Almighty God, they both felt a wave of relief as they made that confession, but then Luke took Julie the next step too: “Jesus, please come into my life to lead me and be my Lord. Amen.”
“That’s it?” Julie was surprised.
“If there’s more to say, they’ll help you with it in church tomorrow. Everyone there will be as nice as me. But remember, it’s not the words--true prayer is in the way you humble your heart: when Jesus comes into your life to lead you, you let Him! Ya hear? Then there will be more words, more prayers, more lessons. And best of all, ‘more joy in heaven’!”
Luke kissed her hand like a gentleman, and then walked away waving, while exhausted Julie drifted up the stairs and drifted off to sleep with the sweetest smile, and peace in her heart. In the morning, true to her word, she walked down to the church and sang praises.
Walking through the woods after leaving, Luke felt like singing too. “I did it!” he exulted, still wondering where all that good witnessing had come from. After he realized the answer, he corrected himself: “God did it!” Then he felt like dancing.