"Surprise" Christians

Today I visited my Dad at the facility where he resides. I was wheeling him back to his room from the dining area.  A praise song we sang at church ran through my head.  As I turned the corner to my Dad's room I heard a male voice singing the same song.  I looked at the guy and the first thought in my head was "Surely he's not a believer is he?." I'm not saying that singing praise songs necessarily means you know the Savior.  But it does indicate the presence of some fruit perhaps.

I was astonished at my bias.  There really was no reason for me to judge him one way or another. In fact, I don't know why my first thought was that he wasn't a believer.  I think I wasn't expecting to find a Christian in the facility. It is a foolish thought because I've talked to others there who seem very genuine in their faith. Later when talking with the Lord the Spirit convicted me of my prejudice. The man was the same race as I, near the same age as I and could have been my next door neighbor. I judged him unfairly.  It was sinful and wrong.  I hope I'm more aware of it in the future. It blessed me afterwards to think that he is a brother.  I hope I see him again. Maybe we can sing the praise song together next time. I'm going to be on the lookout for more "Surprise Christians."