God Used Zombies

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


John 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
KJV

“How about them?” My friend Susie asked. We were in the mall witnessing. I always coach the people I’m training, that if they notice someone or feel some kind of “drawing,” they should trust that and speak up. Susie was very good at hearing the Holy Spirit.

I looked over and saw two young men working a kiosk that sold protective screen covers for electronic devices. Both had hair spiked in a Mohawk and holes in their ears stretched so wide that my pointer finger would have fit through them. Violent looking body art covered the arms of one.

“Sure,” I laughed. “Why not.”

“So,” I said, as I walked up to the kiosk. “What did your mother say about those ears?” 

They looked a little startled so I repeated my question.

“Mine hated it,” one said as he gave a cheeky grin.

“My mother was cool with it but my grandmother hated it,” the other said.

“What about the body art,” I asked the one covered in permanent color.

“Same thing,” he said. “Mother was cool. Grandma hated it.”

“What if you change your mind?” I asked. “The holes don’t look like they will grow back together.”

“Oh,” one said. “You can have surgery.”

“How long have you had it?”

“Five years.”

“I guess you must know if you like it,” I said. “How old are you guys?” They were 24 and 26, old enough to know what they wanted.

“Tell me about your body art,” I said. “You have some interesting pictures there.”

He pulled up his sleeve. It turns out that the bloody pictures were Zombies. He started to explain Zombies but I stopped him.

I always wonder what God is going to use to get someone's attention. This time, it was Zombies.

“I know all about Zombies,” I said. “I’m a writer and I talk about them in one of my books. I actually did research on them.” That got their attention.

“I travel the country helping people find faith in Jesus,” I said. “I run into people living on the streets, miserable and alone. I call them the walking dead. Their heart is beating. They walk, talk, and sleep, but their eyes are dead and they are dead inside – just like from Night of the Living Dead.” I also call them the night people because they want to hide how they live under the cover of darkness.

“Wow,” one said, impressed. “That is exactly what a Zombie is. They are the living dead.”

“I meet them all the time,” I said. “Jesus is the only person who can bring them back to life. When they pray to receive Jesus, I see the light come back into their eyes.”

That comment launched us into a discussion. These young men were philosophers. They had been friends for a while and thought alike. According to them, the afterlife had to do with intellect and was more complicated than we could comprehend as humans. One of them hoped that he might actually make it heaven but he had no idea if that was possible. They both had some church background and had a vague belief in Jesus. They had given the antichrist a lot of thought. One asked if I thought it was President Obama. The other stated that since the antichrist was someone who attracted everyone, it was most likely Jesus.

They pretty much believed in everything and nothing all at once and took great delight in trying to draw us into an intellectual debate. They had all of the cockiness and swagger of young people who thought they could figure out the answer to everything but were proud of themselves for being comfortable with not having to know for sure.

I couldn’t help laughing out loud. I was completely enjoying these impudent young men. I knew better than to debate – they would have happily taken me apart.

“Sounds to me like you are attracted to Jesus if you think he could be the appealing antichrist,” I teased. “I’ve heard people suggest that the President was the antichrist but I have no inside information on that. I have to admit that Jesus being the antichrist had never occurred to me. That was a new one and I’ve heard a lot on the road. I probably have opinions about everything you just asked and said, but it doesn’t matter what I think. It only matters what the Bible says. The Bible says Jesus is the Light of the World and the truth and the way. It calls Him the Good Shepherd and says that the only way to the Father is through him. He is certainly my light and the light for the former Zombies that choose that light. The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short and that the wages of sin is death, so I’m not surprised when I meet the people I call Zombies. The gift of God is eternal life and my favorite line in the entire Bible is that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I paused for a minute and added, “You know, Jesus himself came back from the dead.”

“I know,” one of them said softly.

I felt it. "It" was the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I could tell that Susie noticed it too. I never lose my awe of watching what I call the Holy Spirit hook – that moment when the Holy Spirit grabs them.

“You only need faith the size of a mustard seed to call on the name of Jesus,” I whispered. “I suspect you have that much. You admitted that you believed. I’d like to ask you to call on Jesus right now. There is a line in the Bible that says, ‘I believe. Help me in my unbelief.’ We could include that in the prayer. You have no idea of the wonder that waits for you at the other side of that prayer.”

“Ok,” the tattooed wonder said eagerly. “Wait! I should probably make sure he is OK with this.” He turned to look at his friend.

“I am,” the other young man said. “Why not?”

Together, they said they believed in Jesus – that he died on a cross and rose from the dead. They prayed, asking God to help them with any part of them that didn’t believe. They confessed their sin and asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior.

When they finished praying, all of the cocky confidence was gone. They were stunned into silence. I let the feeling settle over them.

“Thank you,” one of them finally said.

“What you are feeling is the Holy Spirit,” I explained. “Believe me, you have only just begun on this journey. The Bible says all of heaven is rejoicing and there is no party like an angel party.”

They gave me their names and addresses for follow up. I gave them a tract that told them what to do next. They let me take their picture so people could pray for them. They were respectful and gentle as we said goodbye – forever changed.


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