A Christian, a Muslim and an agnostic sit down to tea…
No, this is not the start of a joke. It was my Sunday afternoon.
Awhile ago God started talking to me about being a light. As
Christians we are called to be that light on a stand shining and pointing
people toward the goodness of our Heavenly Father and His Son. It’s easy to live in a Christian community
like I do, figure things are all good and well, but make only momentary impact
on other people living around you.
This past Friday, a young girl riding a bike somehow tossed
herself over our property fence and landed on a pile of bricks we have stored
in an out-of-the-way area. What I heard from my living room was loud crying and
screaming and next thing I know I see a man carrying a girl. When I spoke to
one of the staff from our centre he told me what happened.
My immediate reaction was to say a short, silent prayer that
the little girl would be okay. And then I knew I needed to visit the family of
which I believed the little girl belonged.
I put together a little care package - a colouring book,
chocolate, lollies, a glittery purse – and went over this weekend to bid a ‘get
well soon’ and to meet the neighbours. I wandered up to the front entrance. And
upon knocking on the door heard an accented-voice from an upper balcony call
“Hello?” I peaked my eyes up to introduce myself, and the lady announced she
would come down to unlock the door.
It turned out the girl who had flipped-the-fence was the
daughter of a friend visiting the home. Thankfully she’d only chipped a tooth
and had some bruising that kept her in hospital over-night. I do say
thankfully, because it could have been much worse.
The couple next door moved in recently and I had yet to talk
with them. Together they have a newborn daughter, and she has two other children.
The couple was nice enough to invite me in when I inquired about the injured
girl, we ended up having green tea and talking for 45 minutes. The woman is
from Indonesia – a Muslim - while the man is originally from another part of
Australia – the agnostic. And we had a bit of a laugh that they’d moved in next
door to a bunch of missionaries – the Christian.
Wow, what an exciting opportunity to get to be the light
right next door! There truly are divine appointments happening all around us
each day – we just need to take them.
I’m definitely speaking to myself here.
Being a foreigner in Australia gives me such a great
foot-in-the-door for conversations about God. About 85% of the time I get asked
why I’m in Australia, to which I can answer and explain about YWAM and the
relationship with Jesus that I have. But I don’t always take those opportunities. When Jesus tells us to be the
light, He doesn’t just mean sometimes, or when it’s convenient. He means all
the time.
I’m reminded of my Opa whenever I think about practical,
everyday evangelism. As a pastor, my Opa was used to talking to congregations
full of people about God. But it was those times at a restaurant or out walking
in the park that really stick out to me. My Opa would simply wander up to a
table of people eating their meal in a restaurant, and start talking to them
like they were old friends. I remember feeling so embarrassed. The thought
going through my mind was something along the lines of “Oh my gosh, Opa! This
is embarrassing. Can you hurry up!”
Now when I look back, I realize the amazing an example my
Opa was for living with other people as one’s focus. He didn’t care that it
might take half an hour to make it out the door of a restaurant, because he was
talking to every waitress or family table he passed. In the same way, I had
simply planned to drop off a care bag to my neighbour, but was pleasantly inconvenienced
to stay for a tea and talk.
***
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may
see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
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