Intentional

 9/15/2017                 CJ               about 40

Sitting outside the waste management company he manages, CJ was enjoying the cool breeze in the shade when a passing car pulled over on the opposite side of the road, and its driver got out and began to deliberately walk over to him.  CJ didn’t know him, but figured he must have something important on his mind if he was going so far out of his way to talk to him, so he waited to see what the man had to say.

 “How you doing – I’m on my way home from work and I’m in the habit of stopping somewhere along the way to ask at least one person an interesting question” he began.  “I get different responses from everyone, and would love to hear yours.”

CJ had no idea where this was going, so he just kind of nodded in a non-committal way.

The man continued - “I’ll just let you know the question – what do you think happens after we die?”

This got CJ thinking, and he told about his belief in reincarnation and that all religions are pretty much the same.  The man observed that CJ believes he has a spirit or soul, and he said that he believes the same thing – that he is a Christian that attends a church nearby and also believes there is more to each of us than just our physical bodies.  He went on to say that Christianity teaches that all people, regardless of their religion, have a conscience or moral compass that was given by God, and that all the major religions of the world are basically trying to resolve the fact that we violate our conscience and we need to be reconciled to our Creator.  

CJ gave his belief that our good deeds need to cancel out our bad, and the man explained how we are morally bankrupt because the good we ought to do – the good deeds and actions that God rightfully expects from us – can’t “pay” for the bad things we ought not to do.  He explained how most religions teach we must ‘earn’ a better hereafter through our good deeds, but that the Bible teaches that we need a Savior.  Jesus took the punishment that we deserve and whoever puts their trust in him will not perish but can have a new relationship and new life with God.  

The two talked for some time, and CJ was reminded of many of the things he had learned as a child at his mother’s church but has long since neglected.  He thanked the man for the conversation and gladly took some additional reading materials to check out.

The man went home, rejoicing at the opportunity to share the good news that he sings about in church every Sunday.  This “opportunity” didn’t jump out at him or fall in his lap, but it happened when the Holy Spirit inspired him to be intentional about going out into the world to share the Gospel.