God Will Do the Rest

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope…” 1 Peter 3:15

Sometimes we know someone needs to hear the gospel, the good news, but there are just too many reasons why we don’t bother sharing our experience of God’s love and mercy. We are maybe too shy, we are afraid of rejection, we have too many other important things to do and we can’t be bothered, we don’t think it’s our responsibility or we believe someone else would be better at it than we are. 

This reminds me of a true story Greg O’Leary told in his book, “Small Miracles”. One night while he was walking home, Greg heard muffled screams of a woman coming from the bushes near him. He deliberated whether to take action or not, thinking that he could just call the police instead of doing it himself and probably getting hurt. But he resolved to help, dived into the bushes, grabbed the assailant, got into a scuffle until the man eventually ran away. Panting hard, he slowly approached the sobbing girl saying as gently as he could, “It’s all right, the man is gone.” Then for a heart stopping moment, he heard, “Dad, is that you?” It was his youngest daughter Catherine! 

Imagine if he didn’t take a risk, what could have happened? Sharing the gospel with someone may not feel as life threatening, but I’ve heard enough stories to know that sometimes we can save a person’s life! When my husband was a college student, he was part of Christ's Youth in Action and he went to Luneta Park as part of a team exercise. They were supposed to just approach strangers and talk to them about God’s love. My husband noticed a young man seated on a park bench, but he kept walking, hesitating to talk to anybody. When it was almost time to get back to the group and report, my husband finally gathered up enough courage to approach the young man and talk to him. 

It turned out this young man was contemplating suicide, and because my husband talked to him, he didn't. This tells me we shouldn’t be afraid to fail. We should speak from the heart , and share the truth in love. If we pray for the other person, and do our part, God will do the rest.