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That Was a Good Man

By Todd Lane

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 

“Now I know there’s no God,” stated a well-known entertainer on a YouTube video. “But that was a very, very, very good man.” I sat in front of my computer in complete disbelief at what I was hearing. The entertainer talking was Penn Jillette, who is half of the popular comedy and illusionist duo Penn & Teller. They have a long-running show in Las Vegas, and Penn is an extremely outspoken atheist.

The story Penn was telling involved an encounter he had with a stranger who approached him after one of his shows. The stranger praised Penn for the quality of his work, his presentation, and his communication skills. The sincerity and kind demeanor of the stranger completely captured Penn’s attention. And then the man looked Penn in the eyes and handed him a pocket-sized Gideon’s Bible as he said, “I wanted you to have this.” Inside the Bible, the man had written a little note along with his phone numbers and email address in case Penn ever wanted to get in touch. 

Penn was blown away by how kind the man was and the fact that he wasn’t pushy; he didn’t even have words to describe how impressed he was. He had never encountered a Christian like that before—one who showed genuine interest in him as a person. Visibly moved by the man’s actions, Penn stated, “This man cared enough about me to proselytize.” As Penn concluded telling the story, he simply said, “Now I know there’s no God…but I’m telling you, he was a very, very, very good man.”

That encounter didn’t end with a dramatic salvation experience. It didn’t even end with the stranger giving an evangelistic speech. At the end, he simply gave Penn the gift of a Bible. Yet the interaction clearly left an impression on Penn’s heart—one that he couldn’t define but that we know was a demonstration of God’s love. I believe a seed was planted that day, and the only tool used to penetrate the hardened heart of this militant atheist was love.

Jesus commissioned His disciples to go and make disciples of all the world. This is a calling that we, as Christians, must embrace. Churches spend lots of energy seeking effective ways to make disciples, and the question it always seems to come back to is: What does a disciple of Jesus look like?

The dictionary defines a disciple as “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.” With the ever-increasing number of viewpoints on issues of life and the extreme polarization of those views, people have become disciples of many different things, persons, and ideas. Political figures have disciples; pop culture icons have disciples; even computer manufacturers have disciples! As Christians, we have to recognize that the foremost label we have on our lives is that of a Christ-follower. As we attempt to follow the Great Commission, we seek to become disciples and make others disciples. How we “assist in spreading the doctrine” of Christ truly defines who we are.

Because our world is so filled with violence, intolerance, and hate, it’s easy for passionate, well-intentioned people to find themselves boiling over with anger as they present their perspective. But should we, as disciples of Christ, get caught up in this? The apostle Paul instructs us: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments…instead, be kind to everyone” (2 Timothy 2:23–24). 

What if we avoided the arguments and quarrels that pull us away from the core message we should be displaying—the message of love? Paul tells us further in Romans 2:4 that “God’s kindness leads you to repentance.” We are called to be disciples of Jesus and to represent Him to a lost world—a world that Jesus warned would hate us because of Him, but that He still instructed us to love. In other words, let love define you as a disciple of Jesus. And the kindness of God, shown through you, will lead people to Him and, ultimately, to repentance.

I believe what Penn saw in that stranger was the love of God…a love that didn’t judge him for being an atheist, a love that showed genuine respect for the entertainer’s talents, a love that wasn’t afraid to share with him the Word of God. No quarrel or argument had ever made a greater impact in Penn’s life. But because a complete stranger allowed himself to be used as a vessel for God, Penn felt compelled to take five minutes to record the story of their interaction and broadcast it to the world.

There is much to do as we grow in our spiritual lives—what Paul calls moving from milk to solid food—but one thing remains constant as we grow spiritually and that’s loving one another. In fact, the more spiritually mature we are, the more we should see an increased evidence of love in our lives.

We all have our own stories of how a seed was planted in our hearts. Perhaps today you can be, as Penn said, “a very, very, very good man” (or woman) and, as a disciple of Jesus, simply plant a seed of love in someone’s life that God can grow.

Today, I encourage you to commit to earnestly seek and know the love of God. Then, reflect His love to the world as only His disciples can do.

If we could only be a bit more like Him [Jesus], the world would be transformed.
~ Bono

Memory Verse

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19–20