For the love of Mike

He walked into the store, long gray hair, dirt stained clothes and smelling of a bar of soap. He carried with him a 5 gallon bucket with an orange lid. My guess; his earthly belongings. I smiled, " How are you today?" I asked. With a beautiful Scottish accent and a toothless grin he replied," Just fine darlin'".
"Can I help you find something?" Was my next question. " I need a sterling silver necklace of a cross with a dove. I just have to have a cross." He sounded like a movie star with the way he said his R's. And he was passionate about what kind of necklace and what he wanted it to be. He repeated to me "I just have to have a cross. Jesus has done so much for me." To look at him I knew he was homeless.His statement "looked" contradictory to his appearance.His clothes were old and stained but they were clean. He needed to see a dentist badly and he needed some personal grooming. His eyes were kind and his manners were exceptional. My mind spun with how he was going to afford a $50.00 necklace. I took him to the inexpensive ones first. He was polite and spoke gently that he was needing something that would not tarnish. I showed him our higher end jewelry. He chose 2 cross necklaces. We talked about his homeless camp and how proud he was of it and what he had done with his little patch of land. He shared with me how he had brought in white gravel and made a little path to his tent. He smiled broadly when he spoke of the police coming in to check on the camp and how they praised him for his care of his tent site.
He was ready to check out. I brought his two necklaces to the register and they totaled over $70.00. "Oh Jesus" I prayed "help me help him." I found a coupon a customer had left and I used it on his purchase and it was still over $50.00. He pulled out of his dingy jacket a purple bag with a gold cord. It looked like a royal money bag. In it was a thick pile of bills. In our conversation he never stopped giving God praise. He praised him for all he had and how he would be nothing without his Lord.
Others customers were in line and they were scrutinizing him and leaning away from him. My heart broke as I watched him be rejected for his appearance. In fact he was encouraging a mother to raise her children to love Jesus. The mother was annoyed and veering away from him.
I finished his transaction and gave him his change. I then asked his name, "Michael" He said. "It means,'who is like God'" He was very proud of his name. I told him my name and its meaning. He said "I am gonna be 59 soon.", he looked 79. Before he left I prayed with him. As I was praying his hands reached across the counter and he grabbed my hands and held them tight. I felt my heart squeeze and my prayer became more intense and a bit desperate. When I finished he was clearly touched by it and he was slow to leave.
We said good by and that was it, he was gone. Now here I am unable to shake the encounter with Michael. His name is a question as well as a statement. "Who is like God" He came in as the statement, despised and rejected, of comely appearance. I was the one who was asked the question. Did I do as God would have me? Did I entertain an angel just now? Disguised as a homeless man carrying in him a royal treasure.
I guess my question to you is the same as it is to me. Are we Like Him?
For the love of all the Mikes, are we like HIM!