"Lighting the Fire"
Jotting – Week 26

Tell a Friend, a Neighbor

When a young lawyer asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with the story that we know as “The Good Samaritan.” (See Luke 10:33-42.) The answer to the lawyer’s question might have been, “Anyone who needs my help is my neighbor.” We know that God wants all people to be in heaven with Him (1 Timothy 2:4); Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (John 3:16). People everywhere, those we meet daily, those we pass in our cars through our subdivisions or towns or urban areas, those we chat with in the line at the grocery store, we might consider as neighbors in need of help. All need the touch of God’s love in their lives; all need a Savior. Will you be the one God has chosen to declare the Good News?

Read Psalm 48. This psalm describes God’s holy city, its high elevation, its palaces, its bulwarks and towers. The psalmist recounts the greatness of God, His lovingkindness, His strength and protection, His presence among His people. Verse 13 adds the words, “that you may tell it to the generation following.” So, as we “count the towers” and “mark the bulwarks,” we are not to keep that information to ourselves. We are to tell others, “the generation following”: those who are of our own flesh and blood or those who don’t know Jesus yet but who can become our own sons and daughters in the faith (1 Corinthians 4:17). We tell them so “they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments” (Psalm 78:7).

Psalm 71, verses 14-19, says it this way: “But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?” (Emphasis added.)

In 1992 I had the opportunity to go on a “mission trip” to Czechoslovakia (as it was then). As we drove from Vienna to Bratislava, Jan, one of our hosts (with Andrej, our 15-year-old interpreter), talked most of the way, filling us in on details of the freedom the church in Slovakia was enjoying after many years under Communist rule. We passed through the border checkpoint with no trouble, but with a 15- to 20-minute wait. Jan told us that when the borders first opened there might be a four-hour wait both ways because people from both Czechoslovakia and Austria were anxious to see each other's countries. What we would call impossible, Jan called opportunity–a four-hour opportunity to share the Gospel with whomever was riding in their car at the time.

For nine years, I was blessed to teach a Parents and Twos Sunday school class at our church in St. Louis. The design of the class time allowed time for the children to do activities at centers when they first arrived with one or both parents. During that center time, talk revolved around around the theme for the day.

We had four weeks of celebrating Easter, talking about how Jesus loved them so much that He died on the cross for them. Each time, however, we made sure the children knew that Jesus came alive and that He is alive today. The fourth Sunday was always an Easter celebration. Oh, how those little ones’ eyes shone when the story was told once again that “Jesus is alive!” Each song, each action poem we did, each activity celebrated that fact.

After the Sunday school hour that day one year, the children walked out of the room with their parents. One of the little girls saw her big brother in the hallway waiting for her and Dad. She ran up to her brother and tugged on his shirt. “Chris! Chris!” she said joyfully, “Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!” This small two-year-old had heard the beautiful truth about her Friend Jesus, and she wanted to be sure her brother knew, too, that Jesus was alive. I have no doubt in my mind that she told her mom, her sister, and grandparents that day as well. The excitement and joy of the disciples’ Easter had spilled over into the life of this child. I hope she is still telling that Good News today.

The apostles learned to take hold of every opportunity to spread the Gospel, the story of Jesus. On Pentecost, Peter and the other disciples told crowds that had come from all over the known world the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. When Peter and John entered the temple some time later, they were accosted by a man who was lame. While they gave him no money, they gave him something infinitely more precious, more lasting: Peter said, “‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk’” (Acts 3:6). The man held onto Peter and John (see v. 11), and listened as Peter took hold of the opportunity to once again proclaim Jesus’ love and forgiveness to the people who had gathered to see the miracle.

Research has shown that the majority of new Christians (other than those born into Christian families) come to faith through a personal relationship with a caring Christian. Through our witness in words and actions, of works and love, each of us has the opportunity to open the door to God’s light in someone’s darkness, to bring the joy of Jesus into someone’s despair, to feed someone’s spiritual hunger with the Bread of Life.

Spend time praying, in conversing with the Father. Ask for opportunities to speak, for eyes to see and ears and a heart that truly listen. As someone talks to you–a family member, a coworker, a neighbor, an acquaintance, tell yourself to listen carefully to what that person is saying. Ask God the Holy Spirit to give you the words to respond to that person’s needs in such a way as to proclaim Christ. Then with joy and thanksgiving, tell of God’s love through Jesus Christ.

Pray: Heavenly Father, You have given us a task to do. Jesus said that we would be witnesses for Him in Your Kingdom. Lord, fill our hearts and minds with You so that You are always on our mind. Then when the opportunities come to speak of You, give us the words to speak, whether they are words of comfort or concern, of admonition or encouragement. In all our speaking, let us proclaim Christ to our friends, our neighbors, our family members who need the Good News of Your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.