Woe To Me!

Woe to me!  I did not preach the gospel!  Like Paul’s well-known passage from 1 Cor. 9, I am not “paid” to preach the Gospel, not with the reward of salvation or anything else; my reward is to offer it free of charge, or, as Paul wrote, “I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.”  My goal that I ask God to help me with has been to share the Gospel with someone new every day, and this has been a privilege I constantly thank God for.  Not so yesterday.  I had driven out after work to work on our “fixer-upper” cabin, stopping at a busy Menards for supplies along the way.  I often reach out to other customers after I do my shopping, but yesterday I thought to myself “I only have a few hours to work before dark – maybe when I stop for gas on my way back home there will be someone there to reach out to.  Lord, I know the gas station could be kind of deserted at that late hour, but would You cause someone to be there who needs to hear the Gospel?”  As it turned out, He did not.  Even after I waited around after getting gas, checking my oil for something to do, no other customers happened by.  I feel like the Lord had a lesson for me, one that I want to share with other Christians.  “Don’t wait.  Take advantage of the opportunities to share the Gospel while you still have them.  Don’t let other priorities get in the way.  If the person you initiate a conversation with doesn’t want to talk for very long – that’s okay, you will still have time for your other plans.  But if it turns into a much longer conversation and you have to put your other plans on hold – that’s even better because how precious it is to share Jesus with those who have ears to hear!  What other plans could be more important than that?!!”  This is a lesson I’ve had to relearn and be reminded of over and over in my 5 years of daily witnessing.  And it’s a reminder for others who have a heart to share Jesus too.