As a Christian, there are
times when we must show others the light at the end of the tunnel. We
must show them that loving light of our Lord that we know and, perhaps, they
have lost sight of in their anguish. In
these times, the Lord may ask us to come out of our comfort zones to accomplish
this.
When
Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
(John 8:12 NIV)
Occasionally, my friends and I, in our
younger days, would fish the farm ponds north of our town in the evenings as
relaxation. Afterward, we enjoyed
stopping in at one of the country bars in the area for a couple of beers and a chat
with the country folks. These were
family places. One would hear the good
and bad of family life shared openly.
Their stories could be enthralling or amusing. However, anytime I heard distress in a person’s
voice or it was displayed in their manner, they had my full attention. At this point, my Lord would transform me
into a fisher of men. This is an
improvement my faith has brought upon me.
One of those particular evenings, I sat
talking to one of those distressed persons.
He intimated his wife of several years had, without any warning signs
(though I doubted that), left him for another man. This had ended in a heart crushing divorce. He was wholly devastated. His was a devastation that was quiet and very
inward. That form can be more worrying,
in my thinking, than the outward, brash form of devastation.
We talked about it for some time back and
forth. Then I looked him in the eye,
asking him if he believed in Christ. He
told me yes, though he hadn’t attended church in years. I believed that, in his condition, he could
not see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Life for him was over…figuratively and, possibly, literally.
At
this moment, I told him, in no uncertain terms that he is not going to find
relief or a new beginning in a bar. If
the bar became his life, it would be depression on steroids. I stated what I knew; Jesus is sitting with
us at this very moment listening to our every word, and waiting for you to turn
toward him. Some overly stimulated
Christians think Jesus would not be caught dead in a bar. This man needed to know, with absolute
certainty, that Jesus was there, and the fact that in our Lord there is the light
of life…in the bottle, only darkness.
As the conversation and the man turned toward
Jesus’ light, he was truly affected. A
short time later, we walked out together.
I do not know the end of his story, but I do know the beginning. There is Jesus’ light at the end of the
tunnel with that beginning. Jesus
brought us together that evening, and the holy spirit was strong within that
man as he left. I fear the best, with a
smile.
As Christians, we need to be vigilant in
watching over our brothers and sisters.
Picking up on a nuance in a friend or a person we meet in passing, may
save a soul as well as a life. We are
not heroes when we do these things, but instruments for our Lord to carry out
his will. We must keep in mind the
difficulties of seeing light in a dark and overpowering period. You may be stepping out of your comfort zone to
be our Lord’s instrument, but you will be blessed for the effort.
This
service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people
but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
(2
Corinthians 9:12)
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