After he finished eating, John rose from the kitchen table and headed for the front door. I followed him because I wanted to know how he knew about our child and how he knew what to do when Mary was ill at the table. It would also be our chance to speak alone. We were from the same time era, and I thought maybe I could answer some of his questions about this century. He found a comfortable spot on the edge of the porch where he sat down and let his legs hang over the side. I came and sat down beside him.
"Well, John, what do you think of this new way of living?" I asked.
"There is nothing new under the sun," He said.
"It's certainly new to me," I returned quickly.
"It is for me as well; but not for Jesus," he said, indicating he had already had this conversation with Jesus.
"I can see you are going to be a tremendous source of encouragement for me," I said insightfully.
As we looked out over the horizon I noticed how blue and beautiful the sky was. There were a few fluffs of clouds floating by without a care in the world, making shadows on the ground below them as they passed by. The hills and dales were green and rolling, giving me an urge to run and play as I did as a child. I hadn't experienced that sensation since becoming a Roman soldier, and it was somehow refreshing.
"Kinda makes you want to jump and run, doesn't it?" John asked.
"You, too?" I asked surprised, "I had never noticed the beauty of creation before I met that strange little man in my prison back at Rome."
"I suppose this is quite the adventure for you, isn't it Michael?" He asked.
"That's an understatement. To think that God would choose me out of all the people available who could have done a better job at this than I have; it's just too much for my little mind to fathom," I said.
"I felt that way, too. I was happy being a just being a fisherman. When Jesus invited my brother and me to follow him, I really didn't know what to expect, but when he looked into my eyes; I can't explain it; it was as if my whole life changed in that one glance," John explained excitedly.
"That's what Simeon said," I said.
"You mean the man who carried the cross for the Master?" He asked.
"He mentioned something about helping him with a load he was carrying; so yes, that had to be it," I said.
"Did you get to speak with him at length?" He asked.
"Long enough to know the look Jesus gave him changed his life from the day he met him," I answered.
