“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.” (Philippians 2:14-15 NLT)
Ron Hutchcraft shared in a recent devotional: “Our ministry was being honored with a gracious award from a Christian foundation, and it was named in honor of a visionary pastor in a major American city. Before his death some years ago, he’d been a powerful spiritual force in that city. But he didn’t start out as a pastor. First, he was known and loved as a news anchorman for a major network station.
On the night that changed his life forever, he went to cover a gang shooting. He reported at the spot where the killing had taken place. The chalk outline of the victim on the street was still behind him. He interviewed a gang member from the neighborhood, and he asked him, ‘Have you ever thought about living another way; getting out of this cycle of violence?’
It was this young man’s answer that rocked him: ‘How can you think about another way to live when you’ve never seen another way to live?’ It was a question that ultimately caused that anchorman to change the whole direction of his life. I wonder how many people are living the way they are because they’ve never seen another way to live. Everyone they know is living the same way, so how could they think about another way?”
Does that remind you of anyone in your spheres of influence? A neighbor? Co-worker? Family member? Classmate? I think of the direction my life was headed before I met a friend who introduced me to his Friend who became my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’re a believer today, you may have a similar story. Have you shared your story with anyone other than to someone who already knows the Lord?
You very likely noticed, but our world isn’t getting better on its own. Satan knows he’s a defeated foe, but that only inspires him to lie to and deceive anyone who will listen, and you and I know well, he has a lot of listeners. Are you aware that you’re the only Bible some people read? Your life may well be the difference between life and death for someone you know.
The reality is our life is either pointing people to Jesus or steering them away from Him. It’s easy for us to condemn people who are different than us, but our condemnation of them can push them further from the Lord to whom we want to lead them. What if we took our Savior’s directive and made an effort to speak with them, learn about them, love them rather than reject them?
Here’s the deal – you may be the best picture of another way of life they will ever see. You may be their only hope of finding wholeness, peace, and fulfillment in Jesus. Without you they may never find a better way to live.
Jacob Knapp was a fearless American preacher in the 1800’s who said: “No one regrets, at the hour of death, that he had felt too much, given too much, or done too much for Christ, or to save souls.”
My prayer for you, as it is for me, is that when we’re lying on our death bed, we won’t be tormented by thoughts of what we didn’t do; rather, we’d be blessed by remembrances of people whose lives we pointed to Jesus. The faces of the people we loved to Jesus will be passing across our remembrance as we await our angel transport into the presence of our beloved Savior.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 