Years ago my husband and I heard stories of how evangelist and
founder of Campus Crusade for Christ Bill Bright often led others to Christ on
airplanes or wherever he happened to be. We marveled at how simple it all
seemed. He shared the Gospel, and people accepted Jesus. We didn’t doubt the
stories or the sincerity of those who prayed, but we did scratch our heads.
Why didn’t this ever happen to us?
What were we doing wrong? Was it the approach? The words we used? Our lack of
knowledge about apologetics or the authenticity of the Bible? Were we inept at
sharing our faith stories? What was our problem? There had to be something. If
we were doing things right, would we have such odd things happen when we shared
Christ? Yes, odd. Let me give you a couple of examples.
When we lived in Queens, New York,
years ago, we tried to reach out to a nearby family. One evening we crossed the
street with a homemade apple pie for a couple and their young daughters. Pleased,
the wife invited us in; her husband was distracted by a game on TV. She cut the
pie, and all I remember is a short, tense visit. After that none of them ever
spoke to us again or acknowledged our presence.
Another household on our side of
the street was a little friendlier. In fact, our daughters played together occasionally.
One Saturday my husband ventured two doors down to ask the affable, single dad
about coming to church with us. He politely refused because he had to wash his
socks. That is not a typo of any sort. He told my husband that he had to wash
his socks on Sunday morning. (Subtext: I don’t want to go to church, and I don’t
want to say it to you.)
Yes, this is history. Although no
one else has had to wash socks, we are still far, far from experiencing
anything that Bill Bright did during this lifetime. I suppose that data collectors
might explain this by our changing culture, desensitization to spiritual
hunger, an overindulged society, or any number of other things. I don’t know
about those things, but here are a few things my husband and I have learned and
decided since the pie, the socks, and even our recent encounter with an
agnostic neighbor.
1.
Jesus doesn’t ask us to be successful. (What a
relief!) He asked us to be faithful in telling others the Good News. One of our
favorite Bible characters is Jeremiah, who had a message to share, and God told
Jeremiah he would be ignored and worse!
2.
Somewhere along the line in my numerous pursuits
of learning how to share the Gospel, I heard that on average, someone needs to
hear the Good News five or six times before understanding and accepting Christ.
I’ll just admit it right now—I already confessed to my discipleship group—I
want to be messenger number five or six. What Christian doesn’t want to be the
one to see a spiritual birth right before her eyes and be a part of the
delivery process? But Jesus has brought me to the point that although I would
still like to see that happen sometime, I tell him I’ll be number three or
four.
3.
So my husband and I have assumed new roles:
demolition and agriculture. That’s right. Many times those who are lost have a
lot of walls that need to come down before they can come closer to Christ. My
husband is a brainy guy who understands apologetics, and he is good at
weakening walls of lies and deceptions by asking questions and sharing truth.
Agriculture? Although harvesting appeals to me, you can’t harvest until seeds
are planted and have time to grow. I like to plant seeds of kindness and
sharing how much Jesus has done for me, including how his love overcame my fear
and brought me near to him.
Have you gotten discouraged by your own stories of snubbers
and sock-washers? Have you seen nothing for all your prayers, tears, and
effort? You might be a Jeremiah, a number four, or you might be someone who
hoes or waters those seeds. But we all must take heart. The final harvest is
not in. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).
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