The Gospel and Panera Bread

I was sitting in Panera Bread Saturday afternoon trying desperately to complete an assignment. My ideal dream had been to roll out of bed, arrive at Panera ready to conquer my homework while eating a "chocolate pastry," drinking a cup of coffee, and listening to the classical music playing softly in the background.....My dream faded away as soon as I arrived at the parking lot. I believe I found the last place and squeezed my car into the slot. I thought to myself that it was probably not as crowded as it appeared. Hardly. Upon entering I saw there were 2 tables. One, next to a college aged man who looked like he was having a serious hangover, or two, a table in the middle of the room next to a window. I chose option two. Sliding into my chair I eagerly anticipated my dream coming true. To no avail- The room was so loud music could hardly be heard, orders were being proclaimed every 3 seconds, and somehow I just was not enjoying this table selection. As I sat there trying to read about Jesus and the Gospels, I began to take in those around me. To the right of me sat an older couple drinking coffee and eating pastries- that's nice. To the left of me sat an interesting array of adults; all probably in their late 30's. The two men were fairly quiet, but the five women accompaning them made up for their absence of silence. Curse words were thrown around, crude humor was bantered at, and finally one of the women plunged into a story. Now, they held my full attention as I pondered this very pecular scene. She began relating that she met this very good looking man at a bar, began dating him, only to see him a few weeks later with his FAMILY. She went out with him the next evening and threw her wine in his face. Declaring in a loud voice, "I wouldn't have been so mad at him if he hadn't lied to me. It's one thing to have a family, but to keep that from me just makes me mad." Wow. I was stunned. My mind groped at what I had just heard--Has our world's view of morals actually come to this? Then it hit me. This is our world I'm viewing. I was reminded of the sermon I heard Thursday morning..."The reason lost people act the way they act is because they're lost." These people to the left of me were sinners, probably lost sinners. For all I know, the sweet looking couple to my right could be sinners, just as lost. It made me recall an illustration I heard Dr. Scroggins use in Chapel a few weeks ago. If you took Hitler, probably one of the "worst sinners" imaginable and put him in beautiful white Heaven, his dark, (Dr. Scroggins used the color red for sin) red crimson would be an ugly contrast. But if you take one of the professors, probably not that bad of a person, and stuck them in Heaven, they would still stand out even if their crimson was not as dark as Hitler's. It truly hit right there in Panera Bread how sometimes I can deminish sin...Almost take on the view of, "they look saved." When really, every sinner is blindly lost and in need of a Savior. I went to Panera in hopes of reading about the Gospels, but instead I walked away with the Gospel piercing my heart.