Yesterday I sat in a public waiting area with a friend, and like friends do, we chatted while we were waiting. Our conversation turned within the first 30 seconds to that which what matters most to each of us – our spiritual lives. We talked about about how Jesus taught His disciples, which is our pattern too. We spoke of the Lord’s work in our lives, and other things too, for about ten minutes until a gentleman seated in the chair near me spoke to us and said,
Excuse me for interrupting you, but I just wanted to say how refreshing it is to hear your conversation and hear you talk about things that are far better than the trash most people talk about!
Looking at the man, you would quickly note that he was a motorcycle fan. He had the “that motorcycle look.” He wore a T-shirt, sporting a bike. His goatee was long, like the guys you see on their Harley’s. (I’m not condemning him for that, just giving you the picture.) I thanked him and then asked,
Who is Jesus to you?
He quickly and heartily told me that He was His Lord and Savior! He went on to say that he had been saved out of a life of drugs and alcohol and was now spending his life reaching out to motorcyclists who need Christ! What a blessing to talk with him and to share our common bond in the Lord!
As I considered later in the day what had happened in that waiting room, I thought about how my friend and I were totally unaware that we were being observed in that place. We were just going about our conversation, talking about our sweet Savior, and all praise to Him, we were a testimony to that man, without even realizing it. How different that could have been if we had chosen (as I have on other occasions) to talk about our worries, fears, or other people! There would have been no light on those days!
A couple hours later, I found myself at a store making a purchase. The store clerk had much the same look about him as the man in the waiting room, and reminded me of my earlier conversation. While I was waiting for the man to finish bagging my items, I felt the prodding of the Holy Spirit to give him the Gospel. As he handed me my receipt, I noted that there was no one in line behind me waiting to be served. God had given me an open door and the time to speak to him. With heart pounding, I said,
I have seen God answer prayer and be at work in my life all day today. How have you seen God at work in your life?
His terse response was, “What?!!” I repeated my question, then he answered,
Well, I don’t know, but I’m getting ready to get off work, so I guess I’ll soon find out!
It was then that I slid a Gospel tract across the counter in his direction and said,
Well, here’s one way God’s working in your life. Let me give you this to read as you go home.
Again, he said, “WHAT?!! The man wasn’t hard of hearing, only resistant to my words. I repeated my statement. He looked at the tract that explains how Jesus bridged the gap between sinful man and a holy God, and said,
Oh, No! I don’t want that!
He then began to walk away. I have never asked this before but I asked him why he didn’t want it, to which he replied,
“I’m not into that!”
He stood looking at me, and I at him and I gently said, “I’m sorry. One day you will be.”
I picked up my purchases and left the store, trembling inside – part out of nervousness, and a great deal because I know if that man doesn’t turn to Christ, he will spend eternity regretting that he had the chance to trust Him.
Please know that I don’t share this to make it look like I’m the avid soul winner. This is probably the weakest part of my Christian life. I miss so many opportunities – there was even another open door a bit later that I missed and had to ask God to forgive me for. My point in these stories is that there are two kinds of witnessing that we take part in as believers.
- The first comes from walking in the Spirit so that His light will shine.
- The other is the vocal, stepping out of our comfort zone kind.
They are both needed. They are both necessary. Everywhere we go, we must guard our tongues that they don’t “betray” our testimony as a believer. Our speech and our conduct should point to the fact that we are Christ’s disciples. Everywhere we go we must be looking, asking the Spirit of God to prompt us so we can speak up and reach out to that individual He has put in our path.
The other point to be made is that there are also two responses – neither of which we are responsible for!
- The one person rejoices in your testimony because:
- They are also a believer
- They need the Gospel and are ready to be saved!
It’s not because of us! It’s all of the Spirit of God working in us. He gets the glory!
- The other rejects the Truth. They scoff. They laugh. They refuse.
It’s not up to us to convince them – the Spirit of God does that work, too. We must just be faithful and obedient.
Another reminder is that you can never judge a man’s need by the external. God sees their heart!
Have you let your light shine wherever you go? Are you looking for the opportunities to share the Gospel with your mouth? Jesus left us here after we were saved so that we could be witness to others and share the eternal Truth that God loves them and desires that they are saved!
Let’s not be satisfied going to heaven alone – let’s take others with us!
It was morning and I had had a fitful night’s rest prior to waking up. The weeks prior to this day had been crammed full of caring for others, a couple of trips, lots of study, sickness and then the emotional drain all that brings. Now I found myself staring at yet another hardship and the day had barely gotten started.
RefreshHer 