Want to know God?

Want to know God?

Minister to singles
First Baptist Church, Trussville

A few years ago, someone asked me to visit a young woman whom she referred to as “unchurched.” “Cold calls” are not my specialty but I agreed. 

Taking two friends with me, I knocked on the door and awkwardly explained who sent us. The college student invited us in and politely introduced us to her boyfriend. He looked perturbed. He offered a sideways comment that we interrupted their “study time” (I didn’t see any books open but I digress).

I launched into my gospel presentation honed by hours of practice. The girl was alert, asked questions and gave answers that you would expect an “unchurched” person to give. The guy sat there like a slug, staring me down as I went through my superslick spiel. The girl thoughtfully admitted that she was not a Christian. Smiling, she added, “We don’t believe that stuff.” Great. I was reeling them in tonight. I finished the outline. The girl remained polite but when I asked, “Would you like to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior tonight?” She perkily replied, “No, thank you. Not tonight.”

Summarily dismissed, I almost got up to leave but something stopped me. I turned to the guy and asked him, “What about you? Would you like to get saved tonight?” Something changed in him. He humbly said, “Yeah, I need to do that.” I almost said, “You’ve been rude. You didn’t answer any questions. You weren’t nice to us. You can’t get saved!” The girl’s head jerked around so fast I thought she would snap her spine. Glaring, she looked at me as if I had put a weird alien in his body. She whispered something to him, and he simply said, “I’m a sinner. I need to get saved.”

Here’s the deal: I don’t save anybody. The girl was pretty. She was polite. She’s the one I wanted to get saved. The guy was a slug. Who wanted him in our group? God. God is the One who saves. Not me.

There are more people who need to get saved. It may be you or one of your friends. First Timothy 2:5–6a says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (HCSB). Tell the story. Someone needs to hear it.