Every once in awhile, we get visitors here at the church during the week that come in from their every day walk of life, and they have questions or concerns and wish to speak with a minister. In the last couple of months, I’ve had an opportunity to sit down with two different people. There was a nineteen year old girl, and a twenty year old guy. Both of them came in just looking to talk with a minister, both of them had some past experiences that had led them to seek out some help.
In the first situation, this girl was struggling because she didn’t feel loved. To make a long story short, she was unappreciated by her own family, and had been through relationships that left her feeling so bad about herself that I believe she truly believed she was unlovable. It broke my heart as we sat and talked. I did the only thing I knew to do to encourage her, which was to tell her that she was a treasure to God. She was created in His image, and He loved her so much that Jesus came and died so that she could have a relationship with God now, and could live with her forever in heaven.
As we talked some more, I was able to remind her over and over that people will let us down, but God never will. The exciting news was that when I asked her about what she thought, she wanted to pray to ask Jesus to be her Savior, and to come live in her heart! It was very humbling to be used in that situation. I always struggle with what to say, but obviously the Holy Spirit worked in spite of me and she is now a sister in Christ! I invited her to church, and encouraged her to find a place where she could be fed spiritually and be challenged to continue this new walk of faith. I gave her a new Bible and a devotional guide and prayed with her before she left. It was a very encouraging encounter!
The young man that I talked with came from a different, but equally tough past. His choices had led him to a place where he was living a hard way, and had some consequences. The thing that got me was that some of his friends that were making similar choices were now gone. In fact, three of them had died in the last month.
We talked about the effects of our choices, why it’s important that we choose God without being forced into that relationship, and how choosing to live within God’s standards actually provides greater freedom than taking advantage of the “freedom” we have to participate in worldly things. I was filled with hope as he began to talk of the evil in the world and his desire to spark a movement to change things for the better, and to get people back on track with what God wants.
Sensing the need to talk more about how the Holy Spirit can guide that process, I shared with him some of Peter’s story of change (Acts 2), and how Paul was completely changed by the Spirit. (Acts 9) I’m only human, but I really sensed that he had not ever accepted Christ and received the Holy Spirit, so I shared some more about that. However, even after a long conversation, this young man didn’t want to do that. He says he did all that when he was younger, and was, in fact, a Christian. Unfortunately, when I asked him what that meant, it didn’t seem to line up with what I believe Scripture says. I did end up praying with him, and left the invitation to come back to church anytime and see me. As he left, I was discouraged, and second-guessed everything I said to him.
In each situation, even though there were similar motives to come in to a church, the outcome was different. In fact, each turned out exactly opposite from what my gut instinct was at first. I really believed the girl would continue to doubt her worth in God’s eyes, and based on the conversation about sin, I expected the young man to accept Christ.
Jesus says we are to “make disciples.” Sometimes I forget that in order to become a disciple, we have to start the journey at the beginning. I can do NOTHING to “get someone saved.” In fact, I have a really hard time trusting anyone who says they had someone saved, as I once heard a popular youth evangelist say. Really, all I can do is to plant a seed and share the story. From that point, it is totally up to the work of the Holy Spirit to move in the heart of the individual. Once someone has started the journey, it is up to fellow believers to encourage them to grow, challenge them in their depth, and to hold them accountable to their faith.
When folks reject the message, they are not rejecting us--it’s the Gospel of Jesus, so they are rejecting Christ. (Luke 10:16) It’s not our job to take it personally when someone does or does not pray to receive Christ when we’ve offered that chance. It’s our job to tell them, and continue to pray for them and love them. God will work in His way and in His time, whether we understand or approve of it. In fact, it’s laughable to consider that God works in the hearts of others just to appease our need to put a notch on the “got people saved” belt.
Not every encounter you have with someone will end up the way you want it. But, if you are faithful to boldly share God’s love at every chance you get, God will use it for His glory. Be faithful to God based on what He wants you to do, not on what your understanding of the outcome might be.
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