SUNDAY MORNING HEZEKIAH

“Hey can you help me?” I heard as I exited the gas station early Sunday morning. “I need 60 cents for the bus.” He told me his name was Hezekiah. Homeless—with disoriented conversation and unfocused eyes, he was high.

“Where are you going to catch the bus at?” I don’t know. “Where are you going?” I don’t know.

Though not very convincing for his cause, Sunday Morning Hezekiah did know that his name was Biblical. He even knew where his name was found in the Bible.

His namesake is one of the Bible’s greatest kings. King Hezekiah’s leadership was marked by the statement: “He held fast to God and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands of God . . . he was successful in whatever he undertook.”

Could there be any greater contrast than King Hezekiah and Sunday Morning Hezekiah?

Still I thought, “Oh God, what amazing things You could do with this man’s life if he would follow You.”

I walked away excusing myself from further interaction because of Hezekiah’s lack of coherence. Seventy-five feet away I felt God bungee cording me back. The idea of paying Hezekiah 60 cents for allowing me to photograph him popped into my head.

I went back, explaining my proposal. Hezekiah smiled; flipped his grungy coat inside out to reveal its clean side. He stood tall and asked me, “Am I going to be in a magazine?”

I stood amazed observing his desire to appear successful. King Hezekiah was successful and Sunday Morning Hezekiah desired the same.

Between living on the street and the success of a king there seems to be an insurmountable gulf. Yet the timeless truth in King Hezekiah’s life: “He kept the commands of God,” provides a bridge.

God, help Sunday Morning Hezekiah discover this truth; God, help him be successful.