When I was a teenager, I had an aunt and an uncle that reached out to invest in my life. The summer I was 16, they invited me to come spend a couple weeks with them in their Michigan home. I took my first flight by myself and headed off for an adventure!
They had young children at the time and I joined into their family routine during my stay. I remember watching them love their son and daughter, teach them about the Lord, take them to church and just spend time with them. They also spent time with me. We went swimming, out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and played games. They also went on a date while I was there and they trusted me to watch my younger cousins for the evening. When we were in their church services I loved singing the alto part along with my Aunt Jan as the congregation sang together. My aunt talked to me and really listened. She was interested in me and let me know so.
That visit was really just the beginning of them pouring into me. It was because of them that I visited a Christian college where I would eventually attend. They came to my wedding, and also kept up with my life and invested in me many times over in my adult years, always letting me know that they cared. We weren’t in constant contact, but often enough that I was well aware of their love and support.
Two years ago my sweet Aunt Jan entered the presence of the Lord. Before she died, she called to tell me she loved me and she would see me in heaven. How precious that phone call was to me! Her daughter had passed a couple years before her, and I imagined the sweetness of their reunion in the presence of Christ. I got to see my aunt on her death bed and she was ready to meet the Lord. Her body was tired and so weak, and she knew she would soon be getting a glorified one! As she spoke to me about leaving her husband, my Uncle Jim, she said, “I just hope he doesn’t sit around and mope after I’m gone. I want him to go on living.” I’ve prayed for him many times since her passing, asking the Lord to help him do just that.
Last week on our way home from a meeting in Florida, we drove about an hour and a half to pay a visit to my uncle. He told me he’d be happy to meet with us around noon because that’s when he gets home from bowling. I learned that he’s taking lessons to improve his game (he’s 87!). That made me smile!
We took him to lunch, and during the meal, he looked around at the other customers and said, “Where will all these people spend eternity?” He was burdened for their souls. He “knew” our waitress and she recognized him because he is a frequent patron. They exchanged greetings. At the end of our meal, he handed her a coin that has John 3:16 on it – For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. “Oh, you’ve given me one of these before! I’ll give this one to my sister!” He explained to us that he passes those coins out everywhere he goes because it opens up the path for a spiritual conversation. We heard many stories of people who have received a coin…and a conversation about the Gospel.
He told us, “I don’t know why the Lord has me here still, except that He wants me to keep sharing the Gospel.” He is faithfully doing just that. He shares at the bowling alley, the baseball stadium where the Detroit Tigers have their spring training and he works a desk job. He shares whenever he can have a conversation with anyone. He is soul-conscious – always aware that the person he’s interacting with might not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
I told Uncle Jim while we were at lunch that Aunt Jan would be so happy with how he’s living his life. He’s truly living – even at 87. As a matter of a fact, I think he may be living more fully than some that are much younger than he is, because he’s living out the very purpose that Jesus gave to every believer to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.
Uncle Jim has been investing in lives for all the years I’ve known him. It makes tears well up in my eyes even now. Tears of gratitude for the love he has for the Lord that drives him to really live. He’s living today for the day he’ll live in heaven. I wonder how many will be there because of his passion to live for Someone other than himself?
Who/what am I living for? How about you? Are we really living? We are, only if we’re investing in eternity. It’s something to ponder.
If you’ve never trusted in Christ’s death for the penalty of your sins, accept what He did on your behalf. Tell Him you’re guilty before Him and want His gift of salvation. He will hear when you call out to Him. Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
Let’s all enjoy really living!
RefreshHer 