When you hear those words spoken, or read them, two responses typically follow. Either, you read them and assume something juicy comes next, which actually qualifies you for idiocy, or you read them and said to yourself, “God doesn’t hold two-way dialogue with people very often in recorded history, so this guy is being metaphorical or he’s possibly mentally ill.”
Well, if it puts you at ease, I’m being metaphorical. But, let’s not completely rule out the mentally ill part either. 😉
I hadn’t published a blog here in a while, although I’ve written several. I simply haven’t found the right places and times to work them in, but I assure you I’ve been writing and thinking and searching. So, when I logged in this morning to do some work, I noticed a comment from a blog post I’d offered four years ago. LIVJOYFULL was the title, and I wrote it the day after my friend’s daughter, Olivia, joined the Lord. If context is what you seek, then go read that blog real quick and come back to this one.
While the comment on my blog post was from a few weeks ago, the anniversary of Olivia’s passing is today. I wonder why I hadn’t noticed the blog comments that I needed to go approve until just now? One of my Elders and good friend, Travis, offered a really compelling sermon you can find HERE, from cbfnewton.org’s site, that honed in on sharing the Gospel. Titled, “Biblical Church Growth” for us, Travis cut to the heart of the matter, and I loved it. I was convicted by it. I’m still thinking about it.
But, it doesn’t start or stop there. Listening to a really great sermon on Sunday is fine. But we tend to let those thoughts fade. I think we typically do that whether we wish for it or not. But, every now and then, we’re presented with a thing, or an event, or coincidence, or divine intervention, or whatever you call it, that can’t be ignored.
I experienced the sermon Travis offered about sharing the Gospel. I happened to see a blog comment that lead me to a blog from four years ago. That blog marked the passing of a young lady, much loved, by a dear friend, and today is the anniversary of that soul’s ascension. I read that blog again, and do you know what it was about, ultimately? …Sharing the Gospel. They’re all linked, specifically, undeniably to sharing the Gospel.
And I don’t mean the light version of sharing the Gospel, either. Go read that blog to end… I’m not talking about a discussion over Christ’s works at a dinner party among fellow believers. I’m not talking about visiting with a believer you don’t know that well after church. I’m talking about going out to a stranger and asking him if he knows Christ. I’m talking about reaching out to a woman that YOU KNOW needs the healing power of the Lord and asking her if you can help her know Him.
Do I need a big flashing neon sign that says, “Jesus Saves” in order to get the message? Apparently… How much clearer can it be? Can’t Olivia’s life can become a catalyst for sharing Him with countless others? Am I prepared to forget about her and just set on my hands? How dense am I, that I call myself a Christian, and don’t have the guts to share Him with a stranger? If the irrefutable linking of life unfolding before me isn’t more than a little nudge from the Big Guy, then I’ll be a monkey’s uncle and proud of it. I can’t ignore all of this. Is this not God speaking to me?
Share Him. Be both salt and light my friends. Please.
