This was the question I was asked by the waitress at the local Waffle House. I saw it coming before it got there. It’s a question that no matter how professional and composed one in the ministerial field may be, it is a question that makes one reflect on multiple levels and being absolutely honest, would make even the best of choir boys cringe.
See, it’s on occasion that I pack up the lap top and headphones and head down to the local diner to study, check emails and tighten up systems as I work remotely from the typical office setting. Though it’s not always with a clear intention or design that I do this for the purpose it has come to serve, it is one that I am persuaded to be God’s will for the believer. Meaning that, it is through these repeated visits and occasions that I see clearly the value of being presented with opportunities to be missional. By use of the word missional, I mean living with an intentional approach to infiltrate the world we live in with the love of Jesus Christ. I mean to deliberately look for and build relationships with strangers and in this case, waitresses and waiters. To be able to gain their respect and openness, to swap war stories of what life has brought our way, and to share how, by God’s grace, He has intervened in my life to deliver me from so many past skeletons and sins that once held me captive.
Moreover, it is at this point I would like to say and share how as a full time missionary and mobilizer of other missionaries, I was ready to flip the script and was ready to give a reason for the hope that I have in Christ Jesus in the exact moment the waitress dropped a bomb of a question for me to answer. Though there was that brief window when she asked me if she could ask the question, discernment was telling me what was potentially coming and should have been my tell-tell indicator preparing me to “be ready.” Yeah, it’s at this point in the story that I wish I could say I cleverly responded with wit and wisdom of saying, “while sure, you can ask me any question you like, if I can ask you a question.” And it would have been with that, the questions would have been swapped. Her question asking me about something sinful and my question, asking her about the love of a Savior! Michael, are you saying we should be that bold? Yes, I say, at times like this, absolutely yes, we should! However, that was not the case. I politely told her no in response to her question.
Thankfully, all was not lost. There were actually two employees serving me that morning, both of which have done so on multiple occasions in the past. After the girl asked the question, the guy noticed the ministry decals on the laptop and asked me about them. This led him into telling me about his past involvement in the porn industry and I seeking in return to relate how we all have those dark closets in our past, which later in another encounter led to how we can ensure the forgiveness Christ offers.
I’m always reminded as Pastor JD Greear Pastor of the Summit Church in Raleigh Durham NC, points out, that 39 of the 40 miracles recorded in the book of Acts were done outside of the church building. I pray that God would use those reading this blog to intentionally seek to be ready just as 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to be, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
God wants you and I to share the greatest miracle of all with those we work with, those we go to the gym with and those we encounter on a daily basis. The greatest news of all being that He sent His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins and raised him from the dead on the third day. That if they believe, they can be forgiven and receive the hope of eternal life. Now, the question becomes, who will God lead you to share the miracle of this good news with?
Until All Have Heard,
Michael
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