Two Amazing Witnessing Opportunities

You've probably heard people say that if you are willing to share the gospel, Christ will create opportunities for you, especially when you pray for such opportunities. This became amazingly real to me recently.

Remember: We should be more than willing to share the gospel if we love love Christ and those around us. As Christians, both should be acts of obedience and thanks.

In Matthew 22:36-39, Christ answers the Sadducees question about the greatest commandment. He says, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'"

One way to love the Lord is to obey His commandments (John 14:15), and there are a number of commands in the Old and New Testament about sharing Biblical truth, especially the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Back to my story.

In June of 2008 a dear friend of ours was involved in a serious car accident, and nearly died. For this article, we'll call her Beth.

Beth is a sweet young woman, and we love her dearly. But, we had never shared the gospel with her.

She had attended church, so we assumed she was a Christian. I have learned, however, that this is not a safe assumption. There are many people who attend church every week, but do so out of obligation, or obedience to the parents, or because it's a great place to socialize. I once met a man who regularly attended church because it was a great place to acquire clients for his real estate business.

During recovery, Beth was in a coma for several months. My son and I decided that once she was able to interact and understand, we would share the gospel. We did not want to take another chance that she might die without hearing the gospel.

Now that my son is off at college, the responsibility fell to me. As the weeks went by and she continued to improve, it became obvious that Beth was lucid enough for a conversation about eternal matters. So, as the day approached for a visit, I prayed that I would have an opportunity, and that I would be bold and obedient enough to take it.

We have gotten into the habit of reading from the Bible after each lunch with Beth. So, as lunch wound down, I silently prayed again for an opportunity, and for boldness. We completed reading the passage from the Bible, and followed that with a short discussion. "Now," I thought, "is the time." So, I asked Beth, "If you had died in your accident, what do you think would have happened next?"

Beth smiled.

For any Christians who are reading this and are afraid to share the gospel, read that again.

Beth smiled!

What a blessing you are missing if you don't share the gospel. What a wonderful reward when you share the gospel with someone and they appreciate it, understand their predicament and trust in Christ, or share your love for the Lord.

Beth and I had a wonderful conversation about our standing before God, our need for the Savior, and salvation. I prayed for the opportunity, God provided one, and then blessed the encounter! Even more important, I now know for certain that Beth will one day be in heaven with us.

But, that's not the end of this story. You see, Beth has a mother, and it suddenly dawned on me: I don't know if Beth's mom is a Christian.

Next time... as Paul Harvey says... "The rest of the story!"