Today I had to go to the hospital for a follow up scan.
I find myself sitting next to a man who is determined to make conversation. Within 30 seconds, we are discussing Jesus.
Turns out he has Jehovahs witness background and is trying to tell me that Jesus is ‘only’ the Son of God. After talking for a few minutes, he was willing to concede that Jesus is the Creator but adamant that only 144,000 will go to Heaven, while the rest of us will just be on earth.
I take him through the scripture about the parable of the 10 virgins / bridesmaids and the context: how a man would bring his bride back to his father’s house to live…
“That is what Jesus was talking about when He said:
I am going to prepare a place for you…in My Father’s house, there are many rooms”
I continue: “Us living in ‘paradise’ on earth misses the whole point. It is not about ‘paradise’ or ‘heaven’ in the sense of us having nice things… it is about us taking our purchased place as adopted sons, accepted and welcomed into the very presence of the Father, all because of what Jesus had done”
Biblically, ‘heaven’ is bout being with the God who rescued us, not about a better life, food, friends or virgins!
I shared a little of how Jesus rescued me off a cliff, opened my eyes and changed my life time. In the distance I notice his wife has come out of the scanning room and is sitting on a chair up the hall. A few minutes later, the nurse comes up & says she did want to disturb our (obviously passionate) conversation, but that the wife was ready to go.
I round off the conversation and shake his hand, which was a mistake. His wife berates him for letting someone touch him due to Covid. Ironically, despite having to have to go get my scan next, we still ended up in the lift together 30 minutes later…
I get called in and the radiologist comments on my shirt. I get to share a short part of my background and how God changed me. Turns out he is a Christian and it is an encouraging interaction with ways. He mentions how unusual it is that we got in so quickly…we arrived 1.5 hours early and they were able to rush me through. #thankYouJesus!
Next we have to do some shopping – the teller doesn’t have the best personal skills, in fact is getting quite flustered. We try to alleviate the stress and remain friendly & happy, but it would be hard to describe just how bad it was.
After I finish paying, I offer him a $1 million bill “here’s your first million” …
He refuses to take it, saying he knows what’s on it (a Gospel message) & how he used to be part of the potters house…1Potters house is a Christian denomination that tends to become legalistic – leading to some people thinking that their sharing with others about Jesus is required for salvation. This is a works mentality that misses the power of grace purchased by Jesus.
I personally think that those who are forgiven and know the love of God will want to share with others. Jesus also says it should be our goal. But nothing we do can earn us anything.
I ask him what happened and he shares briefly about how he walked away after the church split up. I say I will pray for him – something we will be doing regularly. I ask you do the same.
This young guy has some deep hurts & is falling, walking down a path that ends in death & destruction. It is amazing that he still has a job – his demeanour and actions were atrocious.
But another day of being surprised at just how many opportunities there are to share about Jesus. He is longing to connect and convert His beloved children but only has us to be His hands & feet…
Lord, have your way in Tyler’s life – please allow him to understand the error of his ways. May he experience the power and joy of true grace. Please release him from the grip and deception of sin. Thank you for Your love, help us to be bold in sharing about it with others.
Footnotes:
- 1Potters house is a Christian denomination that tends to become legalistic – leading to some people thinking that their sharing with others about Jesus is required for salvation. This is a works mentality that misses the power of grace purchased by Jesus.
I personally think that those who are forgiven and know the love of God will want to share with others. Jesus also says it should be our goal. But nothing we do can earn us anything.