Foul Mouths, Frogs, and Magic

I was walking along a busy Indiana highway in the dark, trying to get back to my hotel (I was scheduled to speak at a church), when I noticed a lot of commotion coming from the parking lot. There was a pond surrounded by a dozen loud, foul-mouthed teenagers. Water was flying everywhere and the young men sounded like a pack of hyenas that had just captured their prey. When I asked them what they were doing, they laughed and showed me. I felt sick. I watched as one kid lifted up another rock to find a big fat frog, and the others hurled more rocks at the frog until they killed it.

I returned to my room, but couldn’t stay. I marched back out to frog killers armed with some Million Dollar Bill tracts, a simple magic trick, and a determination to share the gospel with some heartless souls. This is how it played out:

“Hey guys. Did you get anymore frogs?”

“Oh, yeah! Lots!”

“You guys look like you need something else to do. Want to see a magic trick?”

“Yeah! Sure!”

“Ok, this is how you can make money. Watch carefully as I turn this one dollar bill into a twenty…”

“Whoa! How did you do that? Do that again!”

“How about you guys answer some trivia questions and I’ll give you free money?”

“OK! Me first!”

“What’s the capital of France?”

“Paris!”

“Here’s your dollar. Now, who wants to go for ten?”

“Me! Me!”

Now remember, I’m holding a ten dollar bill, trapped between a pond filled with frog fungus and twelve murderous teenagers with large rocks in their hands. I suddenly pictured myself as a large toad with curly hair, about to be stoned.

“Ok, which one of you guys considers himself to be a good person?”

“Now remember, I’m holding a ten dollar bill, trapped between a pond filled with frog fungus and twelve murderous teenagers with large rocks in their hands. I suddenly pictured myself as a large toad with curly hair, about to be stoned.”

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“Not me dude, I kill frogs!”

The others cackled.

“OK, you. What’s your name?”

“Tyler.”

“Tyler if you pass a simple four question test and prove to me you’re a good person, you get the money, OK?”

“OK.”

“Have you ever lied?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever stolen something? Anything at all?”

“No.”

“Ever taken God’s name in vain? Used it as a cuss word?”

“H-ll yes! [Expletive]! [Laugh, laugh, laugh.]”

“Tyler, Jesus said whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. “

“What’s that?”

“Is he serious?”

“Oh, yeah. I learned about that in my health class.”

“Have you ever looked with lust?” I continued.

“Yes, I have!”

“Listen up guys. Tyler, by your own admission, you’re a liar, a blasphemer, and an adulterer at heart and you have to face God on Judgment Day. And that’s only four of the Ten Commandments. If God judges you by that standard, do you think you’ll be innocent or guilty?”

“Guilty.”

“Does that mean you’ll go to Heaven or Hell?”

“I’m going to Heaven dude, because I go to reconciliation, and the priest rubbed that oil on my head!”

“Tyler, try that in a court of law. ‘Your honor, I know I broke the law, but I went to reconciliation and a priest rubbed oil on my head.’ Would a good judge let you go?”

“No, but that’s a judge, that’s not God. God forgives everybody!”

“So do you think he should let murderers and rapists into Heaven?”

“No. I don’t like rapists.”

“Of course he shouldn’t. God will give them justice and He’ll give you justice too if you die tonight. And God’s place of punishment is called Hell.”

“Then everybody’s going to Hell. You’re scaring me dude.”

“That’s right. Everybody deserves to go to Hell. But God is kind and merciful and provided a way for sinners like you and me to be forgiven and escape Hell. Do you know what God did?”

“What?”

“He sent his son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross and take the punishment for sin upon himself. The Bible says, ‘God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ If you will repent—that means turn from your sins, and trust in Jesus Christ, God will forgive you and grant you everlasting life. But Tyler, I can tell by the way you’re acting that you don’t take this seriously. Unless you turn from your sins, God will give you justice and you’re going to end up worse than that frog you just squashed. You’ve sinned against the One who gave you your life, and He says you’ve made yourself His enemy because of your sin. I care about you and I’m telling you the truth. Please guys, make things right with God before you die…and that could be tonight.”

I then gave each of the boys a Million Dollar Bill gospel tract, thanked them for talking with me, and went back to my room and prayed that the Holy Spirit would convict these young men of their sin and lead them to the cross in humble, repentant faith.

Here’s an idea. Ask God to give you an opportunity to proclaim the glorious gospel to someone today. It may be a group of foul-mouthed frog killers, or it just might be a friend. Maybe it will be your own mother. The point is, jump at the chance to impact their eternity before they croak. Skip the intellectual arguing and leap to the conscience. Learn to use the Moral Law—the Ten Commandments, like Jesus did, to show a Hell bound sinner why he needs a Savior. And pray that with God’s help he finds eternal life.