Missed Gospel Opportunities!

A few months ago in TIGS, I was encouraging everyone to pray for and grab opportunities to share the gospel.

Well, on Monday when I was at work, God gave me two opportunities to bring the gospel into conversation, but I didn't take advantage of these opportunities as fully as I could have if I'd been more alert and more courageous. I wanted to share these with you to inspire you, to show you that even I don't do it perfectly, and to give you some ideas for how you can share the gospel more where you are.

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1. "Why are some people really bad?"
One of my friends asked me why the universe is set up so that some people are really bad. I told my friend that we're all bent and that we all rebel against God (Romans 3:10-12). But afterward, I was kicking myself because I left it at that; instead, I could have added something like this:

"And that's bad news for all of us. Because God is a good judge, and He punishes all of our rebellion. That's what the Bible calls God's wrath. And so we're all in trouble, since that means God will punish all of us.

But the good news is that God sent Jesus to take the punishment that people like us deserve..."

(Do you see how I'm using the Two Ways to Live gospel framework?) The conversation in real life might not have gone quite like that, but it would have been helpful for my friend if I'd tried to point her to Christ and not just leave it at "we're all sinners."


2. "What difference will my life make in 100 years?"
Later, as I was leaving work, I got into conversation with one of my other co-workers. I remarked that I was getting old but that I was okay with that--everyone gets old and ugly and dies (I had in mind Isaiah 40:6-8 when I said this).

And I said, "You know, I think about that a lot."

"Really? That's unusual for someone your age," she told me.

"Yeah. And lately I've been thinking more about what difference the things I'm doing will make in 100 years. Or even in eternity." I told her that I'd been thinking about TIGS and YWW and what difference they'll have made in 100 years. The conversation wandered from this focus after this.

But afterwards, I was kicking myself for not telling my friend the words that keep recurring in my mind when I think about the "100 years" question:

Only one life,
'Twill soon be past;
Only what's done
for Christ will last.

And then I could have told her that I live for Jesus like this because He died for me and bought me. So that's why I think about things like what difference will TIGS and YWW make in 100 years or eternity, instead of just thinking about how to make myself rich and comfortable.

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So I didn't do it perfectly. But I'm grateful that God still loves me and completely has forgiven me because Jesus took all my sins. And I'm grateful that God used these conversations to wake me up to be a more alert, courageous, and loving witness for Him. May He use these stories to help you, too!