We Must Be Patient When Sharing Our Faith

June 5, 2018462 views0

We Must Be Patient When Sharing Our Faith

2018-06-05T14:19:05+01:00

By CNP

OK, this is a confession.By nature, I am not a patient person.If I’m driving on the freeway and one lane moves slightly faster than another, I’m the guy who you might not like at all Ã¢â‚¬â€œ weaving in and out of the lanes, pushing to get wherever I’m going just a little bit faster. When I go to the supermarket, I carefully survey which line is longest before I commit. And when I get in that “10 items or less” aisle … am I the only person who actually counts the items in the other people’s carts to see if they fall within in the allotted amount?“Excuse me, but this man has 11 items! Please stop him now!”When I go to pick up pizza and bring it home for my family, I can’t resist the temptation to have at least two pieces before I get home. How many times have I scorched the roof of my mouth with the burning cheese of a pizza that needed to cool down first? It’s not a pretty picture.For that reason, when God tells me I need to be patient when it comes to sharing my faith, it’s not that easy for me. I like results.However, just as a fisherman often must sit quietly in his boat for hours at a time patiently awaiting the first bite, so we who “fish for people” must be patient. We may not catch anything on a particular day Ã¢â‚¬â€œ or week, or month Ã¢â‚¬â€œ but we go back again and again, making the most of every opportunity to speak a word about what Christ has done for us.It’s important to remember that we may not see any receptivity, change or turning in someone’s life at the end of a given conversation. But that’s OK. We have heard so many stories over the years of those who have attended our Harvest events and didn’t commit their lives to Christ at the actual crusade Ã¢â‚¬â€œ but came to the Lord later. Even much later.Sometimes it’s no later than when they step out into the stadium parking lot after the meeting. At other times it may be a day, a week, a few months or even years later.Greg Laurie may not be patient sometimes, but fishermen are. And so are farmers. Consider a farmer planting his field. Seed is sown, but it germinates at different times. So it is when we share the Gospel message with others. The “seed” is sown, yes. But it may not take root in some people as quickly as it does in others. Sometimes a seed sown today may not break ground until later Ã¢â‚¬â€œ perhaps in a rare moment of reflection or a personal crisis.I remember hearing one story of a father and son who were out in downtown Waikiki handing out fliers for our Harvest Crusade. The little boy asked his dad if he could give one of the fliers to a rather burly, menacing-looking, body-pierced man. The dad somewhat reluctantly agreed, keeping a close watch on his son.The boy cautiously approached this big, muscular guy and timidly gave him the flier. This big man didn’t even smile at the little guy. In fact, he promptly snatched the flier and wadded it up in his hand. The little boy beat a quick retreat, and from all appearances, it seemed like a failed encounter. But things aren’t always as they seem Ã¢â‚¬â€œ especially when God is involved.That evening when the invitation to come to Christ was given at the crusade, that little boy and his dad were waiting on the field as counselors to welcome those coming forward. One of the first was that burly guy from Waikiki, coming to receive Christ!