Friday, 18 July 2008
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"But He's Not Worth Saving!" Pt. 3
Continued from "But He's Noth Worth Saving!" Pt 1 and Pt 2
I thought I was finished obeying God's call to help my neighbor. I had done what Jesus wanted and prayed that my words would resonate with him. Though I had just given him a $150 gift card, I wanted him to remember what I said: Jesus wants you to know that he loves you and that he sees you. My neighbor always seems bitter and angry, which is often indicative of a lonely, depressed person. I’ve been there, so I recognized it in him. He needed to know that Jesus had put him on the heart of someone else.
I had been inside for about ten minutes when I heard a knock at my door. It was him, trying to return the gift card. “This is too much," he said, "I can’t take this.”“No,” I told him, “It isn’t too much. Jesus wanted me to give that to you. He gave me the money in the first place, and he wanted you to have it.”
“I can’t take it,” he continued. “I actually thought when you came up to me that this was just a little ‘Jesus loves you’ thing. I didn’t think it was money, and then I saw how much… No, you can’t afford this.”
What an opportunity. Can you imagine if it really was some stupid “Jesus loves you” card? Yeah, it’s a good message, but it was money that brought my neighbor to the door. It was at that point I had the opportunity to share with him the true love of Jesus…the kind that blesses, that sees a need and then meets it.
“T--, you can take this. God wanted me to give it to you. Each time I went to write a check for my tithe or each time I went to donate money…your name sounded in my spirit. Jesus wants you to know that he does see you.” I thought he was going to cry when I said this. I know I did.
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well,”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? - James 2:14-16
We talked for an entire hour about the love of Jesus. It changed my perspective on him, and hopefully his on God.
What opportunities has God given you to really show the love of Christ to others?
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Comments (19)
aaah this is so beautiful! God is so amazing!
NO ONE is..... NOT worth saving.... Let God be the judge of that and listen to HIM... Your testimony just reinforces that..... Thank you !
thanks for sharing this.
i just read all three posts and i am touched.
i understand how hard it may be to deliver the gospel to those you don't particularly like. however, it is something that God wants us to do. God is someone who sees everyone with compassion and He knows what we must do.
When we take the time to really follow his instructions and listen to him, the rewards are so great.
so much greater than what we might have thought them to be.
who would have thought that your neighbor would respond in such a manner. who would have thought that your neighbor was such a soft person with all those anger issues?
it makes ya think.
this is amazing. thanks so much for sharing this. Isn't it crazy how God moves us to do what we wouldn't normally do - then blesses us by using that obedience for His Glory?
that's awesome. may god move his heart to see him.
This is lovely ... thanks for sharing :)
i try to avoid witnessing. it made me so uncomfortable as a non-Christian, i would never do that to someone else. if they are meant to find God, He will create the path for it. He doesn't need my help. in all honesty, i feel bad for your neighbor. i think you gave him an unrealistic expectation of our faith in God.
That was just beautiful. I am at work wiping the tears from my eyes - litterally. To God be all the glory. See, God knows what it takes to move each of us and at His appointed time, He will move us. I want you to keep us posted on your neighbor. Do you extend a persoanl invitation for him to accept Jesus into his heart (based on your post, I'm sure you did).
All of Heave rejoice over just 1 sinner coming under repentance. I will also pray for you because I know the enemy is not pleased but I'm certain that God is and He will bless you 30 60 and 100 fold.
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - My dear Sister, I say this in the spirit of love. I pray that you will receive this in the spirit in whcih it is written: we were instructed to Go out into the hedges and highways and COMPELL men to come in. We may be their only chance. It is our obligation to go after the lost. Pray and ask God how He would have you to wittness. He will give you the words to say and the discernment on who to approach and who not to but we are to reach out to the dying world.
@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - I completely understand the uncomfort level associated with being witnessed to...but I was following the command of my God. The Bible, especially the New Testament, is filled with examples of not only the apostles, but Jesus himself going out of their way to "witness." Everyone is "meant to find God," but due to free-will, they won't all choose to take the path he always provides us.
I consider the conversion of Saul of Damascus, so I basically agree with your "God doesn't need my help" comment. But the thing is, I learned as much from this experience as my neighbor did. The situation was used to change me as much as it was to assist him. I need God's help, too.
In a way, I know what you mean by giving my neighbor an "unrealistic expectation of our faith in God." He kept saying that he can't ever imagine having the kind of relationship I have with God or his mother has...and I tried convincing him it takes work to have that. The fact that I had to really hit hard on the point makes me think you actually might be right...but only as far as my neighbor is concerned.
For myself, I think I'm the one who has that unrealistic expectation; I didn't trust God enough to do what he told me to do a few months ago. But I don't think one can ever have too much faith in Jesus; the God who did miracles from one end of the Bible to the other, who still does miracles...considering all that, I have very little faith.
Please take my words to heart, as well as Nita's. We can't pick and choose what parts of the Bible we believe in just because some parts are better than others. But witnessing is difficult, and one of my neighbors concerns actually was that, according to his upbringing, accepting Jesus one day meant having to witness immediately the next. Not so. Paul spent about 18 years in Tarsus between his conversion and the full-scale launch of his ministry. I don't think I'm equipped to witness in that way, but each of us is equipped to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for reading, and I wish you God's best. --Miss Goldenrod
@nita105 - My mother said the same thing concerning the enemy; she told me to "be on guard" because what I did wouldn't make him at all happy.
My neighbor actually was raised in church, Baptist I think, but has backslidden. He's been on "the outs" with God for years, he told me...feels God doesn't ever do anything for him. I immediately told him God has already done for us more than he needs to, but he has fallen victim to the God-in-the-Magic-Bottle mentality that many in this nation have fallen to. I tried telling him God is not waiting around to do things for us, but on the contrary we have things to do for God.
Not the "join our Christian-Club" message many of that group would have liked me to say, but I don't candy-coat Christianity. Though life is better with Jesus, it is certainly not easier.
@skluvjesus@xanga - @pja2@xanga - @bluemeday@xanga - You all are right, that God's glory was shown in this. Of all the people in my sphere, this was the one guy I didn't want to do anything for....and he just so happened to be the first person God told me to "witness" to? (God's sense of humor...)
@juiru@xanga - Thank you for your prayer; it is one that I hadn't really considered, that my neighbor be the one to now see God. It is definitely what he needs. I loaned him Max Lucado's A Love Worth Giving, which has helped me understand God's love for us. I pray that it give him enough of a teaser to stick with it.
Wow that was really generous and kind. I was moved by your post - I really loved this entire series. Thanks for sharing!
Pretty amazing experience. So many times when we take ourselves out of the equation and let the Holy Spirit of God do the work, people get saved. I had tried a few times to share with people about Jesus, but I was always nervous because it was all about me. Then one day I had my first experience letting God be in charge. It took all the pressure off me.
You were listening to God. Few people do you know.
So beautiful! It's so neat how God just opened him up because of what you said. Praise God!
"Do unto othes others as you would have them do unto you"
You showed love in action which Christ loves.
Becker
to all who responded to my post:
my stance comes from the fact that my return to Christianity had nothing to do with someone else witnessing to me. in fact, the more my Christian friends tried, the less and less i liked the thought of returning to the faith. in my opinion, faith is not a product... it is not something meant to be marketed or advertised. the biggest damage to modern Christianity, IMHO, has come from Christians who act more like used car salesmen than a follower of Jesus Christ. if you want to show someone how much better life is after accepting Jesus, show them. you don't need a soapbox (or in this case, a gift card).
oh, and i couldn't care less what Paul did in Tarsus, because i've always thought Paul was a bigot and all-around jerk more interested in oppressing pagans than speaking about God. the only single person to do more damage to the early Christian churches and teachings was Constantine.
i can't remember =(
We always pray we want to hear God and know His will for us but when we hear Him the hardest thing to do is obey and trust in Him. Your obedience to God's direction and the way you just stepped out of your comfort zone to help your neighbor is really inspiring. Thanks so much for sharing this!