We all know that Hollywood cannot dream up anything sometimes that compares to the actual situations we find ourselves (or others) in real life.  Saturday was one of those experiences.  Mom, Robert & I went to Valdosta, our closest Hobby Lobby town, to celebrate her birthday and get craft supplies that Robert and I both needed.  Robert went to his section, and Mom and I browsed our way through the front aisles on the way to mine (yarn).  We were looking at cards on the end of the aisle, when out of nowhere a young guy, definitely a teenager, came up to us and said, in a very normal voice, “I’m a banana” and stood there waiting for our reply.

Stunned, I replied, “Good for you!” thinking that maybe he was with a youth group of some sort, on a scavenger hunt or other weird game.  He walked away, and came right back less than a minute later and said, “I’m a banana”.  We brushed him off, and walked into the interior of the aisle, and he promptly went around the corner, then came back again at us and said, “I’m a banana”.  At this point he was about to be a banana split, because I was getting annoyed and Mom was getting very worried.  Right before I snapped back at him, an older man, possibly a youth leader or his father (I thought) said, “Do you have a wedding album at home?”  I stuttered out “yes”, he left, and the young guy ONE MORE TIME appeared and said, “I’m a banana”  Torn between yelling for security and leaving, Mom and I went off at a fast clip down a completely different aisle and we never saw either of them again.

We were weirded out, to say the least!  For the life of us, we couldn’t figure out what he meant, why he was there, or what he was trying to accomplish!  All we knew was that he thought he was a banana!  We caught up with Robert (thank heaven!) paid up and left.  When we got home, we told him about the incident and he was equally mystified and confused.

Of course, that night as I laid in bed reviewing that encounter, God showed me that sometimes Christians can be just like that guy, and we might just be confusing and weirding out people that we really want to reach with the Gospel.  I was recently asked why I don’t drink by someone who I knew did.  I replied, “I’m a Christian”.  Then they asked what that meant, and I unfortunately said, “As a Christian I don’t believe in drinking”.  Now, because that person has other Christian friends who do, I am not sure I made any more sense than my “banana” guy.  And we all do that.  We can unknowingly use “I’m a Christian” as a pat answer to all life’s problems, and expect people to know what that means.  “Do you believe in abortion?”  “No, I’m a  Christian”.  “Do you believe its ok to sleep together before marriage?”  “No, I’m a Christian”.  “Do you ever pad your expense report?” “No, I’m a Christian”.

You see the point?  Sometimes we take the SO easy way out, and don’t bother to explain, or witness, or offer Scripture to support what we believe.  We just say, “I’m a Christian” and let it go at that.  I allowed God to convict me of that, and I am determined now to ALWAYS think about bananas when I am faced with the hard stuff, and to be ready, as I Timothy says, in season and out to witness for Him!