Work of the Spirit

1/26/15                  Don           about 55

Yesterday, I called in a food order for carryout at a restaurant, thinking it would be ready at my requested time pickup time.  Instead, my arrival at the restaurant was a reminder for them to start cooking my order!  No big deal, this just gave me time to reach out with the Gospel to another man also there waiting for his pickup order.  Don (not real name), responded to my question about eternity by identifying himself as Jewish, and wondered why I had asked about his beliefs.  I explained that I am a Christian and that I attend a nearby church (which he said he was familiar with and we discovered we knew some people in common) and that as a Christian I am called to share my faith and often do so conversationally.  "Well I'm a solid Jew, so you won't be able to convert me!" he said.  He went on to provide his Jewish credentials - born to a Jewish mother, dual citizen of both the United States and Israel, did his year of service in the Israeli Defense forces, and even fought for Israel in Afghanistan.  "So you can see", he said, "I've been Jewish all my life, and nothing you can say is going to make me convert to Christianity!"  "That's okay" I replied, "The truth is, I've never converted anyone.  I'm just glad to share what the Bible says about Jesus and eternal life, and let people decide for themselves."  Actually, though, I'm dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit rather than on anyone's ability to choose faith in Christ.  But I didn't want to complicate things by trying to explain to Don about the role of the Holy Spirit, who seems to prefer to work in the private places of people's hearts.  I believe unbelievers like Don need to decide how they will respond to what they know about Jesus, and if he comes to faith one day he will look back and realize that it was the Holy Spirit drawing him to Jesus all along.  I also believe the Holy Spirit often chooses to use the obedience of others in sharing the Gospel, and the prayers of others as part of the process of transformation that only He can do.  So will you pray for Don today?