Don't ignore those little opportunities!

Good morning friends! Kevin here again from Oaks of Mamre ministry with a few thoughts on this past week's gospel reading.

"Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 10.32

As I heard this week's gospel reading I was reminded of all the times in my past when I've encountered people who seemed too pushy with their invitations to come to Christ. You know the people who stand on corners and shout at everyone to “REPENT!” They are the ones with the megaphones and the leaflets that tell you how to get to heaven in 3 easy steps.

Well, a couple of data points that may be of interest. One, I was that person for a season in my life in my early 20s. I have preached on the streets and handed out literature in several different countries during that short season. That's a story for another time (or never!). While I no longer practice that form of sharing my faith, I will say that it taught me to be bold and to "Confess Christ before men." I'm just praying now that I didn't inadvertently drive anyone away from Him with my boldness that often lacked tact.

And secondly, since it was Father's Day this past Sunday, I wanted to briefly tie in a story of how those little leaflets changed the trajectory of my family's life forever. Yes, forever. I'm not being dramatic.

 

When I was 2 years old I was asleep in the back seat of my parents' car as we traveled home to Cincinnati on the Pennsylvania turnpike. My mom was asleep in the passenger seat. And my dad was asleep at the wheel. Something, maybe a pebble, clicked against the windshield and woke my dad up just before he went off the road. He says that if he went off the road in that spot it would likely have meant a roll-over and death or life-threatening injuries for us all. Instead, he was able to make it to the next exit, though completely shaken up.

 

Heart pounding, he took the exit and went to the phone booth to call his mom and relate what had just happened. At the phone booth, there was a leaflet, what some call a "gospel tract." I still have it. At the end of that pamphlet, there is a suggested prayer to pray if you wanted to come into a relationship with God. He prayed that prayer. Right there, for the first time, in that phone booth. His life was literally never the same. And our family tree was changed forever. You see, before him, his family line was one of alcoholism, addictions and abuse of all kinds - it would not even be appropriate for me to mention the scope of the abuse in this essay. But after that night and that prayer, we started going to church and practicing our faith as a family in earnest. He would later have the opportunity to lead several of his extended family members to Christ. Yes, that leaflet changed the course of our family's trajectory forever. And it's also why I try not to judge others' efforts to share Christ even if they use means that make me uncomfortable or give me serious doubts about their usefulness. God can use our small attempts - even the awkward ones that make many of us uncomfortable.

  

"A good starting point is to simply introduce ourselves to someone we don't know. At Church. This will start to strengthen the muscle for confessing Christ more boldly in other settings."

 

Now, am I advocating we team up and hit the streets with "Orthodox Gospel tracts?" Worse things could happen, but no that is not my intention. Am I saying that we each find all kinds of ways to "confess Christ before others?" Well, only if we want Him to "confess us before His Father." That's actually a pretty good offer if you ask me!

As I mentioned last week, perhaps a good starting point that is doable for any of us is to simply introduce ourselves to someone we don't know.

 

At Church.

 

This will start to strengthen the muscle for confessing Christ more boldly in other settings perhaps. And what might those "other settings" be? In our families, in our workplaces, even online. Essentially in all the places we live our normal lives.

 

We don't have to go out of our way to find the right context. We're already in those contexts. So how do we confess Christ in those places? The opportunities will certainly find us I believe if we are open to them. God wants us to do this. Certainly, He will guide each of us on the timing and the means if we're open to Him.

But don't ignore those little opportunities. You might do something that others think is waste of time and it could change the trajectory of a whole family's life.