A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they'd be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. Well, as such things go, one thing led to another. The sales manager went longer than anticipated and the meeting ran over time. Their flights were scheduled to leave out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport, and they had to race "pell mell" to the airport. With tickets in hand, they barged through the terminal to catch their flight back home. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently knocked over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere.

Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the boarding gate in time. One, however, paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

He told his colleagues to go on without him, waved goodbye, asking one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their destination and explain that he was taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping; no one caring for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into the baskets and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he'd finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes... She continued, "Are you Jesus?" He stopped in mid-stride and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"