Succes or Failure

As I boarded the small airplane on my way back home, I had the luck of being in seat “1B.” I wondered whether I would have a seatmate or have the whole section to myself, and I did not have to wait long until a nice young lady indicated that she would be occupying the seat next to me. I began to think of all the things I could say and the questions I could use to stir the conversation toward spiritual matters. After all, I had just finished reading a great book on apologetics and questioning evangelism—newly dubbed “conversational evangelism,” and was ready to engage. Sadly, the young lady began perusing her secular magazines and even when I tried asking interesting questions the conversation floundered.

After our small talk the stewardess brought beverages around and I settled in for some quality work time. I planned on typing up notes for a paper deadline and in the midst of getting everything situated I spilled some ice out of my cup. So I not only witnessed a conversation fissile, but I had now spilled some ice on my new-found, not-so-friendly seatmate’s feet. Luckily, the ice seemed to have landed on the floor of the airplane.

Toward the end of the flight as we started our final approach my new acquaintance discovered, much to my dismay, that apparently one piece of ice found its way into her open purse. I felt about three inches tall and apologized profusely; offering to get the stewardess’ personal supply of napkins if needed. The young lady brushed off the enormity of the situation, sharing that it was not a “big deal,” which obviously did not make me feel any better. I felt absolutely miserable with the results of my honest efforts at displaying proper airplane etiquette, and now to a much lesser degree, any evangelism opportunities that I had totally botched.

The reason I share this incident stems from our tendency as Christians to see evangelism as either success or failure. Success when gospel presentations culminate in prayers of salvation, and failure with anything less. But perhaps, as with my disastrous airplane flight, I merely needed to model Christianity at this stage in my seatmate’s spiritual journey. In the end God has called each of us to scatter seeds of faith, hope, and God’s love: allowing Him to take care of anything else that might be needed. Understanding the gospel obviously helps Christians share their faith when opportunities arise, but oftentimes demonstrating God’s love may be the most “successful” witness we can provide.

Big Decisions

Today I'm sitting in a hotel in Fayetteville, AR as my son goes through interviews for scholarships at a distinguished university here. I'm reminded of all the things that go through your mind when big decisions need to be made. Choosing the right educational institution where you'll spend the next four years of your life, and a little bit of money, in order to fulfill life's calling can be a major ordeal. Those kinds of decisions are never easy, but one of the greatest comforts through it all is that God cares enough about us to help us in the decision-making process.

Decisions like college, jobs, marriage, children, and life changes are only a few of the challenging decisions that come our way. But we also have decisions to make in happy and prosperous times - how to be a good steward of the funds we're entrusted with, how to be a good spouse or parent, how to invest wisely so retirement will be something to look forward to, what will be the best house or vehicle that will keep its value? Taking care of aging loved ones (and that includes me!), picking the right city or neighborhood to move into, as well as what will strengthen our important relationships like family and marriage - yes, you have to work at great relationships!

The great thing about all those questions, and the plethora of other ones that I did not even mention, is that God loves being a part of the decision process. He loves getting involved with His creation on a day-to-day basis. Doesn't John 3:16 tell us that God "so loved the world," and if that's true then He loves hanging out with His creation. Can you imagine that God longs to hang out with you and be consulted about everyday decisions? In James chapter 1 verse 5, James says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

Wow! Instead of the old expression "when in doubt throw it out" we can actually ask the Creator of the universe and He'll give us the wisdom we need to make the right decision! How cool is that?! So the next time you have audacious decisions rising up in your world, take a quick time out to check with God on how He feels about the matter. You may not hear an audible voice or see a hand appear out of nowhere and point you in a certain direction; but you just might run into some material on exactly the issue you're struggling with or meet up with an old acquaintance who is exactly the person you needed to talk to about that issue. You may have a door or opportunity slam shut or a deal that doesn't go through; but don't get mad - trust God and wait with expectancy on the better opportunity God has waiting for you just around the bend!