“The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one.” (Matthew 13:38)
Last weekend was special for me. I went home for my high school reunion and had the opportunity to visit the church where I spent my teen-age years.
The older I get, the more I appreciate the small things that people did for me. As I sat waiting for the service began, I spotted one of my former Sunday school teachers, who later told me that he’s still teaching. It was good to hug him and let him know in a more personal way how much I appreciate him.
There was another teacher who was also special to me, but I didn’t see him. My sister told me he had passed away several years ago. I can remember as if it were yesterday those Sunday mornings when he would bring his coin collection for us to see.
He had the most unusual collection I had ever laid my eyes on. These coins were coins from Jesus’ day, so old and worn you could hardly make out the image on its face. In fact, I’m not sure I would have known had he not described them for me.
I’ve thought about that collection a hundred times. All the kids thought we had him fooled. We’d ask him to bring his collection in to get out of a Sunday school lesson, but he was a step ahead of us. That collection was as powerful of a lesson as could be taught. You see he knew that if he could show me a coin that circulated in Jesus’ day, then maybe I’d realize that Jesus was real, too.
I’d give anything to be able to thank him for the wisdom he used in making Jesus real to me. The truth is we should all do our best to sow seeds for the kingdom and let God handle the rest. That’s what I believe Mr. Harris did. Thank God for him!
I was encouraged last week by classmates of mine who told me how much they enjoyed my column. Who knows? Maybe in some small way I’ve helped them to understand that Jesus is real.
I recently visited another community in which my column appears to speak about what God has done in my life. Whenever I give my testimony, I am reminded of the Apostle Paul’s brave declaration: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” (Romans 1:16)
Salvation is a miracle and I always enjoy helping others to understand the difference a miracle like that can make. It’s the first time in my life, as a speaker, that I’ve ever been asked to offer an invitation at the end. I really didn’t know what to do, so I just prayed and asked God to give me the wisdom to reach others for Him; and boy did He ever come through for me. Four of those attending the meeting responded to the invitation and gave their hearts to Jesus.
The point is this: God’s really not as interested in our ability as he is in our availability. We’re just vehicles for Him, whether we’re standing up for Jesus or just showing a small group of boys a box of Roman coins.
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