Have you ever met someone whom you tried to save from choosing the wrong road?
Don’t participate in the unfruitful actions of darkness. Instead, you should reveal the truth about them. Ephesians 5:11
During my recent sermon study, I opened one of my reference books and was surprised to find a newspaper obituary from 1986. I met the individual only once. He was young, age 21, and quite popular on campus.
He attended the ordination service for a new deacon in my first pastorate. He was a schoolmate of the deacon’s son and spent quite a bit of time in the deacon’s house. They knew each other quite well. They would often play Trivial Pursuit together.
Our deacon practiced today’s verse seven days a week. He truly lived Christ as best he knew how. He was genuine. This young man saw that Spirit-filled attitude in our deacon. The deacon was a walking witness by not only what he said but also by his standards.
This young man attended the deacon’s ordination then trusted Christ as his Savior a few weeks later at another church in September,1986. He died on November 30, 1986, in a car wreck driving home one night from church. His death was a horrible jolt to the community.
It would be easy to say the ordination service made the difference for him. After all, God sometimes speaks through events, whether bad or good. But I suspect God spoke to him through a lengthy process. That process included the lifestyle of our deacon and his wife. The young man saw and saw and saw…and he saw not perfection but genuineness. There is no question their testimony helped him accept Christ…just four weeks before he got the biggest surprise of his life and entered eternity.
Never forget what you are to stand for. Someone will always be watching.
Tom Swartzwelder was born again at the age of nine in an old-fashioned revival meeting. Tom received his B.A. from Tennessee Temple University and his M. Div from Luther Rice Seminary. He has pastored for nearly forty years in both bi-vocational and full-time roles. He provides practical how-to-do-ministry resources for the disciples of Jesus Christ. Tom’s latest book is “God Speaks–Today!”
Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash
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