A Simple Invite

Today I did something that I have never done before.  It’s not something I’m exactly proud of either.  It should have never taken this long.  If I am as strong in faith as I claim to be, if I follow Jesus like I say I do, then why did I wait until now to do what I did?  You see, today, for the first time in my life….I invited someone to church.

It started yesterday morning…..well, it really started before that.  I have a coworker who I have observed, overheard conversations, and know a little of his life.  Yesterday morning, on the way to work, God spoke to my heart and told me, “Just ask him.  Plant the seed.  I can do the rest.”  The problem was….well, I made it a problem….I didn’t have any invite cards…like the one posted in the picture above.  So I told myself, tomorrow I will ask…..but first I need a card.

Not 10 seconds after walking into work, another coworker looks at this guy and says, “What are you doing this weekend?  Are you going to church with Jody?”  And there it was….again….God nudging me.  The second coworker pulled me aside a few minutes later and said that it is all about spreading seeds.  I still used the lack of a card as an excuse….but I knew what I had to do.

Last night I made my way to church…..picked up some cards.  First thing this morning I began looking for the right time….a moment when I could speak to him.  These moments passed…moments I could have spoken .  Finally at break time I walked with him.  I said, “Remember what we were talking about yesterday….I know you aren’t a church goer.  Up until recently I haven’t gone either.”  I told him a short version of my breakdown story.  I handed him the card, told him this was his official invite, and wrote my blog on the back if he wanted to read my story.

Mission complete.  But why was it so hard?  If I like a restaurant I will tell you.  If I have a great nutritional supplement I like, I will share.  But when it comes to Jesus….The Most Important Person In My Life…….I am silent.

I can hide behind this screen and type for days.  I can share story after story of the great things God has done in my life and in the lives of my wife and children.  But when a real person walks up….woah woah woah.

This is Easter week.  I am only guessing, but at this point in Jesus’s life, He had less than 48 hours to live.  He knew exactly what was to take place.  The pain, the suffering, the loneliness as His disciples would flee.  Yet He still went to the cross for you and me.

Jesus’ last words on Earth before ascending to heaven are as simple as an instruction He could have given.  There is nothing complex about it…..but it is the MOST important thing for us, as Christ followers, to accomplish with our lives.  Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;  and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20.)”

So we are to go…..we are to share…..we are to teach….we are to lead those lost souls to Jesus….never ceasing…..not one coworker…..not two coworkers…..but everyone we see.  Everyone that walks the face of the earth.  And yes, that sounds daunting…but what did He say after giving us that simple instruction…..He said, “And lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.”

So we aren’t alone….we aren’t walking up to a stranger by ourself.  We aren’t sharing an invite to Easter with a coworker without Him by our side.  In fact He is walking right beside us, pointing….saying, “When you are done with this one….look, there is another over there.”

So I pray as Easter approaches, this year I won’t be scared to share with others.  Jesus went through too much, He has changed our lives too much to not share that with others.  And if we don’t share with all those out there…..what happens to them? Think about it…..think hard.  If that neighbor you have thought of talking to but never have, never finds Jesus….what happens to them?  I pray I can get out from behind this screen.  God, give me the courage to get out from my comfort zone, use my weakness for Your Glory.  Because in the end, we are fighting for God’s Kingdom. As Steven Furtick points out, “As Christians we are not fighting for victory…….WE ARE FIGHTING FROM VICTORY.”