The characters in this story are fictional, but the biblical truths are based on Scripture.

John sat on the old wooden bench outside the feed store with a Bible resting beside him and a cup of coffee in his hand. He had lived in that little Wyoming town most of his life. Folks knew him as an old cowboy who believed the Bible and was not ashamed to say so.

Some agreed with him. Some avoided him. John treated them all about the same.

Fred came out of the feed store carrying a sack of mineral salt. He set it in the back of his pickup, then looked toward John.

“You carry that Bible everywhere?”

“Not everywhere,” John answered. “But I keep it close.”

Fred walked over and leaned against the wooden railing.

“I have read some of the things you write.”

John took another drink of coffee. “What did you think?”

“I think you believe every word of it.”

“I do.”

Fred shook his head. “That is what I cannot understand. You seem like a sensible man. How can you believe a book written thousands of years ago?”

John picked up the Bible.

“You mean this book?”

“Yes. Men wrote it.”

“Men held the pens,” John said, “but the message came from God. The Bible says, ‘All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness’” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Fred gave a small laugh. “You use the Bible to prove the Bible. That seems convenient.”

“That is a fair point,” John replied. “But I do not believe it simply because it claims to be true. I believe it because it has shown itself to be true.”

“How?”

“It tells the truth about God, the world, and the human heart. It tells the truth about me, including the parts I would rather not admit.”

Fred glanced down the street. “What does it say about you?”

“That I am a sinner.”

“Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Sin is more than making mistakes. A mistake can be accidental. Sin is disobeying the God who made us. Scripture says, ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’” (Romans 3:23).

Fred shrugged. “I have never claimed to be perfect, but I am not a bad man. I have never killed anyone or robbed a bank.”

“Neither have I.”

“Then why call yourself a sinner?”

“Because God does not compare me with murderers and bank robbers. He compares me with His own holiness. When I understood that, I stopped trying to prove that I was better than somebody else.”

Fred studied the old man’s face.

“You really believe Jesus changed you?”

“I know He did.”

“How can you know something like that?”

“Because I know the man I was before Christ, and I know the man I would still be without Him. I used to live for myself. God showed me my sin and brought me to Christ. I am not the man I should be, but I am no longer the man I was.”

Fred was quiet for a moment.

“But how do you know Jesus was really the Son of God?”

John rested both hands on the Bible.

“Jesus fulfilled promises written long before He was born. He lived without sin, died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead. After His resurrection, He appeared to His disciples and then to more than five hundred people at one time.”

“You were not there.”

“No,” John said. “Neither was I at Gettysburg, but I do not deny that it happened. We learn about the past through the testimony and evidence left behind.”

Fred folded his arms. “If God is real, why does He not prove Himself so nobody can doubt?”

“What kind of proof would satisfy you?”

Fred looked toward the sky. “I do not know. Maybe He could write my name across the clouds.”

“And if He did, would you obey Him?”

Fred opened his mouth, then stopped.

After a moment, he said, “I would have to think about it.”

John nodded. “Then the real problem may not be a lack of proof.”

“What do you mean?”

“People saw Jesus heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and raise the dead. Some believed, but others still wanted another sign. Jesus said, ‘This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah’” (Luke 11:29).

“What was the sign of Jonah?”

“Jesus was speaking about His death and resurrection. Jonah came out of the great fish after three days. Jesus would come out of the grave. The resurrection is God’s great sign to the world.”

Fred looked down at the cracked sidewalk.

“So you think the evidence is already here.”

“Yes.”

“And you think I am rejecting it?”

“I think you may have decided the Bible is not true without ever honestly examining what it says.”

Fred did not answer.

A pickup rattled past them, leaving a trail of dust behind it. John finished his coffee and placed the empty cup beside him.

Fred finally spoke.

“What if a man has ignored God most of his life?”

“He should stop ignoring Him.”

“Is it that simple?”

“Turning to God may be simple, but it is not small. A man must be willing to face the truth about his sin and about Jesus Christ.”

Fred stared at the old Bible in John’s hands.

“What if he has waited too long?”

John’s voice softened.

“If he is still breathing, he has not waited too long. But he should not assume he has tomorrow.”

John opened the Bible and read:

“‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life’” (John 3:16).

Fred did not say anything. He stood watching as John tucked the Bible under his arm and walked toward his pickup.

Before climbing inside, John opened the passenger door and reached behind the seat. He pulled out a new Bible and held it toward Fred.

“Here. Take this.”

Fred hesitated. “I already have a Bible somewhere at home.”

“Then now you have one you can find.”

Fred smiled slightly and accepted it.

“Do not take my word for anything we talked about,” John said. “Open the Bible and find out for yourself who Jesus is. Start with the Gospel of John.”

Fred looked down at the Bible in his hands. “What if I have more questions?”

“You know where to find me.”

John climbed into his pickup and drove away, leaving Fred alone beside the feed store. For the first time, Fred wondered whether his unbelief was based on what he knew or simply on what he had always assumed.

He placed the Bible on the seat beside him. The question followed him all the way home.