This past Sunday evening, my pastor posed the question in his sermon, “Who do we love enough to save?” Not that we have the saving power, but who do we love enough to point to Jesus?
As a Christian, it’s easy to answer, “EVERYONE, Lord!”…but do we REALLY? I can only speak for myself, but I can recall so many times that I have missed an opportunity to share about the Lord, because I wasn’t sure how to turn the conversation in that direction or I was afraid of the reaction I would receive.
How many times have we left someone treading water…maybe drowning in sin…with no hope of being thrown the saving knowledge of Jesus?
As my pastor was talking in his sermon, he spoke about how his personality is introverted and the thoughts of having to speak in front of people when he was younger was quite terrifying. I could totally relate. In school, I was afraid to try out for sports, stand in front of class and I even struggled to make eye contact with people. I was extremely shy. And…if I am being completely honest, I enjoy time alone and you could say I am introverted by nature. Most people always find that shocking because I teach classes and sometimes overshare pieces of my life…well, if my husband was writing this, he would say I overshare all the time!
When I sit down and think about the positions I had in Human Resources over 20 years ago that put me standing in front of new employees each week for several years speaking to them about their benefits, then God placing me in the role of a pastor’s wife for over seven years and now running a business with the constant pressure of having to promote my services/products to stay relevant…
God was in it all.
Without each one of those positions I found myself in, I would not be able to teach Sunday School classes, teach painting classes and share the pieces of my life that are messy and vulnerable. I feel quite unworthy to even do any of them, honestly. No Bible degrees…not formal art training…no public speaking knowledge…just a country girl from SC with a hillbilly accent and who uses excessive amounts of “y’all” and “ummm”. I’m not articulate, but God has blessed me and allowed me to use my “job” as a ministry and an avenue to share my testimony. He gives me words to write out and share that sometimes blow my mind, because I am too dumb to think of those things on my own.
God is in it all.
He is using my job and my studio to give me the opportunity to share Jesus in subtle and bold ways each and every day! As I stood at my coffee pot this morning looking out the window, I said to the Lord, “Thank you for this day. Help me to use it to honor You. Honoring Him with my life requires going outside my comfort zone, throwing out the preserver and trusting that I may not be the one to pull them into shore, but I am willing to stand and throw until my arms give out with the hope that they reach that golden shore.
I want to love God enough and people enough to share of His amazing love…His saving grace. His mercy that endures forever.
I want to always be the friend that has the life-preserver in my hands ready to throw out to ANYONE at ANYTIME.
I want to love enough to always be “on deck” with words of encouragement, life and hope that come from a relationship with Christ. I don’t want to EVER miss an opportunity to share what I have within me.
I want to love enough to save.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
