Life Happens

12/29/17            Ron          About 55

Life happens.  I found myself unexpectedly at the hospital cafeteria, waiting for my Dad’s recovery from emergency surgery.  Plans and daily routines suddenly get put on hold.  Priorities get reset.

With some time on my hands, I had looked around the cafeteria for an opportunity to reach out with the Gospel.  I was surrounded by a strange mix of people, some in the midst of their daily routines, and some pulled out of theirs unexpectedly.  There was the usual crowd, the orderlies, nurses, and doctors in their green scrubs, grabbing a quick bite to eat while on break, catching up on the latest workplace gossip.  And there were the rest of us, family members there to visit a loved one, here today, gone tomorrow, pulled out of our routine and thrust into theirs by fate.

I reached out to a man named Ron who looked much like me, and indeed he was there unexpectedly for his mother’s knee surgery after a hard fall in an icy parking lot.  He responded positively to my question about eternity, searching for answers to my unexpected question.  Over the years he hadn’t given matters of faith much thought, and he didn’t have too much to say in answer to my questions.  It wasn’t too long before his responses about his beliefs began to wane, and I think it was a welcome relief to him when I began to share with him about mine.

At first Ron confessed that he had many doubts despite his church attendance over the years.  He had a general understanding of the Gospel, an understanding that comes with being a passive listener but never really taking the initiative to learn more on his own.  He was aware on a surface level that Jesus had died for our sins, but not sure why that would be important to him personally.  I think he appreciated my explanation, and, perhaps just as importantly, my concern and prayers for his mother and family afterward.

So was it appropriate to approach Ron with the Gospel during such an unexpected time as this?  Would it have been better to approach one or more of the workers with an unexpected conversation in the midst of their daily work routines?  When is sharing the Gospel appropriate, only in church?  When is it inappropriate? 

Walking into the busy cafeteria I was plagued with my usual doubts before initiating a conversation.  But I was reminded of how God so often works unexpectedly in people’s lives.  Jesus said “…the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”  He doesn’t wait for our invitation or operate according to a man-centered timetable.  Maybe we shouldn’t either.