God is at work in the world

I was on my way to a Church meeting, walking along Auburn st when I noticed to my dismay that I was about to by confronted by someone from green peace trying to squeeze me for the moths in my wallet.
Now I'm no red neck, but I'm sorry to say, my thoughts about green peace were that they are all a bunch of tree hugging, dolphin kissing, hooch smoking hippies, so my attitude toward this guy wasn't fantastic, yet as soon as he opened his mouth I was shocked to discover that he was an intelligent, passionate, compassionate bloke with a lot to teach me. He seemed compelled to act on behalf of the poor and needy, to speak for the oppressed, not to be blind consumer and to oppose greedy multinational companies who leave a trail of destruction in the pursuit big bucks. I tried to deflect the heat I was beginning to feel by mentioning that I happen to sponsor two children from the third world, unimpressed, he continued on saying his organisation was tackling the issue from a much bigger level, by addressing the corrupt governments in these countries that lead to the horrendous poverty in the first place.
In the course of the conversation he discovered that I was a Christian and proceeded to tell me that he'd be the first person going to hell, when I asked him why, he explained that he'd grown up in church with this passion stirring inside of him for the world and its sustainability, but there never seemed any common ground between his religious world, and his real world. When he was 16 his minister had shown him the door saying that he could go save the trees, but the mission of the church was to save souls.
I think it was at this point that something happened in me that really has changed the way I live. I was all of a sudden able to see God in this “hell bound hippie”. I asked him if he thought it possible that the burning passion for the world and its people might just come from the one who created that same world and that if he were to open his heart to this God, then this God inspired passion and energy for this task would only increase.
The bottom line is that for too long my Christianity had been about trying to make others like me. I was right and they were obviously wrong, God was with me and not with them, and so my job was to conquer them with my view of the truth.
I never did end up giving him any money, but since that day my eyes have been opened to see God at work in the world in all the places and with all the people I'd never thought He'd be.
God is at work in all of us... maybe we should open ourselves more to what He's doing.