I'm not so sure how to deal with this...

Recently, I got into a pretty cool discussion with a girl I work with. (This post is kinda serious, so I won't take on the name Mr. Publix.) We were talking about God and things related, when my clumsy mouth stumbled on the law vs. grace thing, and how even though we do wrong, God is still okay with us if the blood of Jesus has covered us, and shown us the way to love Him and one another. Well, I didn't quite word it that way, but she took it the wrong way, and thinks I'm into the idea of total carnage and what not, and expecting God to let me into heaven covered in sin. As I was telling her of grace, she mentioned to me "God is a wrathful God, and He gave very strict guidelines."
Now, he did give strict guidelines, all of which were totally summed up in His two commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your mind... the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself."
Now, I was shocked, here is what surprised me, that she says God is such a wrathful God, yet he loves and commands us to love. She talked as if she had never seen the loving side of Him, or the full reason He died on the cross. I don't want to show it directly to her, because only God can open her eyes, but I'm going to tell her about it, in hopes that God uses me to open her eyes to His love. I just don't know how to tell her without her thinking I'm some kinda hippie liberal. *sigh*. I don't know... help, anyone?

Mr. Publix/ Jonathan Bourque

Jonathan sat outside the art room at lunch time on Friday. Here was where "Warriors for Christ/ First Priority" met. He sometimes enjoyed being there, and today it was pretty good too. He was talking to a kid on the varsity football team who showed up there every Friday. The kid (whose name Jonathan never got) had asked him where he went to church. Jonathan paused, trying to find a way to answer that question without having to explain himself later.
"I'm here, right now." he said.
The football player paused for a while and said, "Yeah, I gotchya, that's pretty cool, man. Alright."
Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief. The bell rang to end the lunch period, and he went on to complete the school day.
When Jonathan got home, he had a mission: to dress as his if-it-wasn't-for-God-then-would-be-worthless-alter-ego/ not-so-heroic-superhero a.k.a. Mr. Publix. Easier stated, he had to go to work.
Later in the work day, Mr. Publix got into a conversation with a regular church-goer who made the slight folley/ beneficial action of asking him where he went to church.
"I'm here, right now." He said remembering what Jonathan had said earlier.
The woman looked at him and said "At Publix?!"
:(

Mr. Publix vs. the "Shark"

Mr. Publix was tired. He had just woken up, and was working at 7:00 on a Saturday morning. He tried his best to keep a good attitude, and at the moment, it was working. That changed soon. A short, old, round man stepped into the room, with a plastic, but maniacal smile. He went into the break room to punch in. He came back out of the break room with a Miami Dolphin's shirt on, and still wearing that smile.
He went to a superior, and she gave him an assignment. He began to take plastic bags from boxes, and store them in plastic bins underneath the bagger platform at the end of the check-out aisle. He looked over at Mr. Publix, and read his name tag aloud.
"Mr. Publix, would you take these and put them in the bins?"
Mr. Publix looked over at the man, and politely did the job the best he could, not denying the man a favor. Suddenly the man sounded angry.
"No, no." He walked over to Mr. Publix, and told him how to do it.
Mr. Publix did his best, and this time with some more knowledge on the task at hand. However, no matter how Mr. Publix did the job, he couldn't do it right for this man. Mr. Publix stopped doing the job, and waited for the man to walk somewhere else. He looked over at an agent only one rank above him. A rank labeled "cashier." Her name was Veronica.
Mr. Publix leaned over the counter, and asked. "What is that guy's name, and what is his rank?"
Veronica looked at Mr. Publix, and said "We call him the 'Shark.' He's just a bagger like you. He picks on the new people, trying to get them to do jobs his superior asks him to do. Don't take orders from him. He's as much of a rat as he is a shark as well. If he sees you do something wrong, he'll run right to Andy, and tell him. Don't do what he tells you. He is not your superior. The only reason we keep him is because he can wear that smile all day to make our customers feel welcome."
Drat! Just when Mr. Publix thought all employees were good. That fantasy just had to be ruined, didn't it? Now Mr. Publix was perplexed. He had had trouble with this "Shark" guy before. This was not the first time. How to handle it though? At first, Mr. Publix thought he should heroically punch the old man in the jaw. After all, the "Shark" could end up a worse nemesis than that runaway shopping cart. He suddenly realized that an action so cruel as that would not be so heroic. He also realized that the "Shark" was not his enemy. The pain and laziness the "Shark" harbored was his worst enemy. That's right, even worse than cart. He knew from his readings of the Bible that the only thing that can cure him of that is God's grace. The only way for humans to make a man open to seeing God's grace is to be "...wise as a serpent, and gentle as a dove..." Act just as Jesus would. That would require a lot of heroic effort. With God's help, Mr. Publix can do it. He can cure the "Shark."

Mr. Publix Mission No. 1

For the grocery store, it was a high-speed chase. Mr. Publix dashed at a runaway shopping cart, his arch nemeses, at a record fifteen miles per hour. It was too fast. It slammed into the curb at the end of the parking lot. He lunged for it, but was pulled back by a commanding voice resounding over the parking lot.
It was Donna, an old-timer agent at Publix. She knew the tricks of the trade, and knew how to pick off the baddies. Mr. Publix looked at the shopping cart, and shouted heroically
"We're not through with this battle, fiend!" He then walked coolly over to his superior.
"You're going under cover." said Donna. "Flip your apron over your head so the people at the counter can't see it."
Mr. Publix followed the order.
"Now, do you have a dollar?"
Mr. Publix reached into his pocket, and grabbed a dollar. "What do you need me to do?" he asked discretely.
"See Andy? He's our man inside. Meet with him at the checkpoint at the front counter. I need you to then offer the man behind the counter a dollar bill, and see if he will give you a lottery ticket."
Mr. Publix understood his new mission. He nodded and took his dollar to the counter where Andy stood. Andy was gone in a flash. If there's one thing to be said, it's that the guy had stealth. Mr. Publix handed the bill to the guy behind the counter. He looked suspicious, like the kind of guy that would sell lottery tickets to minors, like Mr. Publix. Mr. Publix asked finally, as he handed the man the single.
"One lottery ticket, please."
"I need your ID."
Mr. Publix gave a furtive galnce at Donna, still within sight. She nodded for him to continue. He pulled his driver's permit from his pocket, and handed it to him.
The man scanned the identification quickly, and handed it back to Mr. Publix with his dollar bill as he said "You're too young."
The man checked out. Maybe not all of them would. Mr. Publix walked back to Donna.
"I had just gotten word from the head. He says we need to run... checks."
Mr. Publix nodded, and went to take care of some unfinished business. "CAAAAART!!!"

To the grocery store, AWAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!

Faster than a runaway shopping cart, more powerful than a train of runaway shopping carts, ever watchful of cars that would run over him because the drivers aren't so watchful. Is it a cashier? Is it a costumer service clerk? No, wait, it's Mr. PUBLIIIX!
Bagging your groceries at the speed of light. Can he handle eggs and bread carefully? Yes he can! Can he walk your cart full of groceries to your car and have a flowing and friendly conversation? Yes he can! Can he tell you where the restrooms are? Yes he can! Can he accept hugs from the little ones he knows in his community when they see him? No, he's not allowed! He is MR. PUBLIX!!
Goooo, baggers!