A very close friend of mine, Spike Crawford, dropped dead with a “widow maker” heart attack this week. He had as good of a Christian witness as I’ve ever seen. Today he is with Jesus walking the streets of gold I would imagine. From what I know of this man he was as good as they come. He lived his life to a point where people respected him and wanted to be like him. This is perhaps the greatest witness of all, don’t talk the talk but walk the walk. He of course will be missed.
I got lambasted by someone the other day for of all things sharing the gospel of Christ. This does not happen often, but on occasion someone will invariably become irate about me proselytizing someone. I am always perplexed by this attitude as I would not share the gospel unless I was genuinely concerned about the individual and determined to help in any way I can. We are just one heart attack or similar malady away from meeting our maker.
As a Christian I do not have a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. I know I am a sinner like everyone else and in many cases even more so. The only difference is that my sins have been forgiven. I have a genuine concern for those around me and I think all Christians should share that concern and burden for others. Jesus instructed us not to keep the gospel for ourselves but to share it with the world.
I hope that everyone reading this has shared the gospel with others. If not you are missing out on a major part of your Christian life. Yes there may be the occasional person who resents it, but the overwhelming majority of the people with whom I have shared the gospel respect that effort and want to learn more about Jesus. We can only share, and the rest is between them and God. If they reject you for it even and say harsh words to you, don’t blame yourself; sometimes the people we want to help the most reject our help the most. Jesus had many who rejected His message even after performing miracles.
We are given free spirits and a free will, and it is up to each individual to make that decision. Our role is to simply share the good news about Jesus Christ at every opportunity Jesus said we were to plant the seeds and leave it there.. Personally, my life has dramatically changed for the better since I came to know God and I am in a good position to relate the ‘before and after’ to anyone who cares to listen. If they do not want to hear it, then I will not force it on them.
I would hate to think that one of my friends, family, or really anyone would spend eternity in Hell and could have avoided it if I would have only had the courage and compassion to share the love of Jesus with them if only for a moment. Who do you know that needs to hear about Jesus? Share the gospel with them today!
Matt. 10:32
Whosoever therefore shall
confess Me before men, him will I
confess also before My Father which is
in heaven.