How to Discourage Unwanted Advances

So, I was on a bike ride, enjoying immensely the chance to chat with God, enjoy His creation, and not have to speak to a single soul. However, I paused at a water fountain, where a man at least ten years older than me started chatting with me. He seemed harmless. He was asking about my bike which is a VERY cool bike. It folds in thirds so it can fit in a suitcase. I love it and despite looking a little clownish, it is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden. He told me about his upcoming knee surgery. I told him I would pray it went well. Which I did as soon as I started back on my journey. 

I was happily tooling along on my little folding bike when I heard a voice beside me, “Ah, the folding bike lady again.”

The old dude with knee issues had caught up to me and now wanted to chit chat. I am NOT the continual feast of patient Godliness I try to convey on Facebook and other social media. Truth be told, I was annoyed. I wanted to be left alone. I have little down time from ministry, and when I do, I just want to retreat to a quiet place by myself.

I may be too ancient to quite remember, but the old guy with the knee problems seemed to be hitting on me.

I was trying the distant, rude approach, but that was NOT working. He was definitely flirting. OOOO ICK.

Then I heard a voice. HIS voice. “Vicky, you are not glorifying me.”  I hung my head. This old man was having an operation to replace his knees in two weeks. What if he died and no one had ever told him about Jesus? God was clear. I was the designated pinch hitter. I don’t remember the whole discussion, but here are some excerpts.

“So, if you were to hit a deer because you are not paying attention,” I said, “And die today, where are you going? Heaven or hell?”

“Neither,” he said.

“You mean you will just vanish, all that conscious being that is now talking with me will be gone forever?”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe in God?”

“No. It is fable made up by people. I have seen far too much evil in the world to believe in God.”

“You are right about all the evil...the Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all need Jesus who came to earth to pay the penalty for sin that we deserved.”

“How can you believe the Bible!”he snorted, “A book made up by a bunch of men.”

“How did the universe begin?”

“The Big Bang.”

“Most people agree,” I said, “So did something come out of nothing?”

“Yes.”

“I see. And let me ask you, is there anything in the universe that you can think of that doesn’t have a cause? For example, if a ball is rolling...did something cause it to roll? Or can it roll all by itself from a standstill?”

“Yes it can. Gravity.”

“Gravity CAUSED it to roll if it is on an incline. It has a cause. A force we call gravity. Can you think of anyway it could have rolled without a cause?”

“I find it incredible you choose to believe in a God as creator when all societies have their made up creation stories.”

“Does it strike you as unusual that the stories are so similar? What if they are similar because they are based on fact? What if you are wrong? What if you meet God on judgement day and find out I am right? That you will stand before God and give an accounting of your life but you rejected God who created the universe and you? What will you say to God?”

“Nothing, because God doesn’t exist.”

At this point, he was becoming angry. We had reached the parking lot at the other end of the greenway. He got off his bike and moved away from me. I followed because now I knew God’s purpose in this encounter. I had to bring the discussion to a conclusion.

“The Bible says all creation declares the glory of God and if you seek Him, you will find Him. I challenge you to ask Him to help you find Him. I promise He will.”

“That will never happen,” he said.

“Well I am praying for you that it does.”

“I don’t need you to pray for me.” 

“I will anyway. God bless you.”

And as I biked away, I did pray for him. I also chuckled how I had never thought to use the Gospel to discourage unwanted advances. However, I should have. Nothing confronts and repels an unfaithful heart so effectively as the Gospel. It’s now firmly in the tool kit with my bike pump.

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Colossians 4:5-6   

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

2 Timothy 1:8 

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,