The other night I felt as though I'd been found guilty! I wasn't on trial and there are no court cases in my future. The story I heard didn't involve me, but in my heart I knew...I am guilty.
Let me explain...I heard a guy, Ricky, share a story from his past - there was a boy in his class, let's call him Bob and Bob really didn't fit in. He wasn't an athlete, he wasn't into speech and he didn't excel in the classroom and really he didn't have any friends. But one day Bob said Ricky was his best friend because Ricky was nice.
Ricky told the story a different way, "I wasn't nice to him...I just wasn't mean to him." There is a difference you know!! Time went by, the young men graduated and went there separate ways...Ricky continued his walk into ministry and Bob journeyed on. His was a road filled with pain and despair lacking love and hope. Bob only traveled for a short time...eventually it all was too much and he took his life at the age of 19.
So back to Ricky, the guy Bob had called his best friend and the man I heard share this story 15 years later. This experience will forever be part of his story and fills him with passion today...you see in the days that followed "Bob's" death, God convicted Ricky of the sin of complacency and the other night as I heard this story, He convicted me of it as well.
Friend, if you know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior like I do, we are called to share Him, the Good News and God's love with others. Not the people we choose to, not the ones who look like us or think the way we do, but the ones God puts on our path. We must be intentional. We need to remember there's always someone who needs to know Jesus. We can share with our hands, words and lives. Today I challenge you to do just that and take a few minutes and ask God to search your heart. Are you guilty of complacency? If the verdict is yes, what are you going to do about it?? I'd love to hear!
Perhaps you are reading this and are the "Bob" in my story...if so I want you to know God's led you to this post, so please keep reading, keep seeking. Friend I want you to know, I've been a "Bob"...I know life can leave us empty, hurt and afraid. Perhaps you feel alone, lost or without hope...will you hear me out today? Jesus is real. Listen to what He says, "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
If you have questions feel free to email me at jillberan@yahoo.com or leave a comment! I am praying for you and want you to know God loves you, sees you and He knows you!!
2 comments:
Wow! What a powerful post, Jill. I know I am guilty, too. Guilty of being complacent in so many areas. I have been praying with the start of this new month for the Lord to open my eyes in some areas. I am thinking I definitely need to ask Him to show me the places I am being complacent.
Love you! You sharpen me!
K
Hi Jill,
This is such a sad but powerful post. Whenever I hear of crimes or see hurting or sad faces in the newspaper, I always wonder what sort of home life they person had, and I always pray for them. In fact, every week there is a list of about seven people in the paper who have committed some sort of crime and are wanted by local authorities. Their faces tell such a sad story. I always ask God to bring healing and deliverance and salvation to each one.
Thanks for this thought provoking post, Jill.
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