Random Encounters of the Motivational Kind

Ran into a random guy at the store today. Seconds after walking next to him in the isle he started into his pitch. Telling me about a free concert, handing me a little flyer-card, asking if I like music, then going on for 10 min to share his heart and endeavors in ministry. (One of those people who talk so fast you don’t get to say, ‘i really gotta finish shopping and go’) So I listened, wondering what God was up to. We chatted about my church a little, he wanted to be sure it was a “Bible-teaching Church”. It is.

The encounter was a bit awkward, unexpected, but overall the guy had truth set in his heart and couldn’t stop talking about it. I can’t fault him there. Toward the end, I started thanking God that I ran into this overzealous fella. Got me thinking…

Do I allow myself to be passive about sharing the Gospel simply because salvation isn’t forced? God overwhelmingly cares about your destiny, right? But look around. Do you see signs of God forcing people to follow and believe Him? I really don’t.

God doesn’t force His hand or salvation on anyone. Sure, that’s true. He didn’t force it on me. But, don’t think for a second that God’s unforceful nature indicates He isn’t fully present in the fight to rescue us. He is the leader of this fight, this war over souls.

I am learning that my apathetic attitude toward others being saved is something I should be very concerned about. Maybe I’ve been ignoring the truth of hell. Maybe i’m just afraid of what others will think or say or do in response.

I am overall afraid of standing out and living against the flow of the masses. Stupid fool!

We cannot forget the severity of God. We cannot forget the truth of hell. We cannot ignore that without salvation, people will absolutely exist forever apart from God. Missing the WEIGHT of that truth is what I ignore and it causes me to be lame in faith and keep the truth for myself. Stupid fool!

Just some thoughts. Maybe you resonate with this. If so, ask God what you’re really afraid of. Ask what the Holy Spirit can do to change things around. Ask for boldness, wisdom and courage in Christ. Just ask. Or, just maybe you’ll meet a bold person like I did that will motivate you.