Yesterday my car needed an oil change before I set out for a friend’s house. I had plenty of time before I had to pick up my granddaughter from gymnastics, so I was very relaxed. I sat down in the waiting room while they began removing the old dirty oil from my engine and replacing it with new, clean oil. It was amazing what happened next. While the dirty oil was being drained and replaced with the clean, the same was happening in the waiting room.
There were three of us in the room and we began talking about challenges that we had faced and were presently facing. One man began discussing his son who is a heroin addict struggling to stay clean. The other man was listening intently as I shared my story about my daughter and how she had been redeemed from that life. We began talking about the saving grace of God, and Him being the only cure for whatever struggle we are experiencing. The quiet gentleman began telling us that he was raised Hindu and to this day his parents still have actual idols that they worship. He said that he felt that as he grew up he gravitated away from that. He knew that something inside told him that one God was present, and that God lived within him. He was unsure and untaught, but it was obvious God was pursuing him. The other gentlemen began sharing that the message in addition to God invites us to accept Jesus as a means to God. The man vaguely described what he felt inside which we knew was the movement of the Holy Spirit. This man was being drained of the idol worshipping that had been placed in his life as a child. The Holy Spirit was filling the space with a new oil…an oil that wouldn’t need replacing…an oil that would offer a cleaner heart. At the end, the other man asked if we could hold hands and pray. His prayer was beautiful and bold, including an invitation for the other man to know Jesus, and fully understand the beauty of God’s message of new life.
I was so honored to be a part of that experience and so blessed that the man was bold and courageous… unashamed to share and unafraid of offending him. That is how I want to live out my life. I want to open my eyes to the people God places in front of me. I don’t want to be ashamed or afraid to share the treasure I have found on earth. What then?
Our stories and testimonies will be the new oil that flows from our hearts into the hearts of others. Our shared experiences will serve to drain despair from one and replace it with hope. We only have to open our eyes to see how prevalent the despair is. Let us be AWARE…let us be BOLD… let us MAGNIFY!
"I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest." John 4:35
No comments:
Post a Comment