The past couple weeks have been
interesting here in the Pacific Northwest.
While other parts of the country are accustomed to receiving large
amounts of snow every winter season, we are not. Lots of rain, yes – but many winters come and
go with few, if any, snowflakes falling.
So our cities can’t afford to invest in major stockpiles of
weather-related equipment and materials to help ease our pain when the white
stuff falls; and our many hills and trees around Puget Sound don’t help
either.
A week and a half ago I made a
critical error. After I began my pre-planned,
3-store every-other-week trek to buy groceries and other household supplies, I
realized the error I had made – a major snowstorm had been forecast to arrive
the following day. I think I can safely
say that EVERY PERSON who lives in my county was present at one or all of the
stores I went to that day! My first clue
was when I got to Costco and there were NO carts! By the time I hit the third store, there was
literally not one loaf of bread – of any shape or kind – on the shelves. This was snow
panic at its finest!
After standing in long lines at the
checkout and sitting in long lines on the road home, I started thinking about
the panic mentality. Thousands and thousands of people had shown
their worst side that day in an effort to make sure they would have no needs
(wants?) over the next few days. I mean –
how many loaves of bread does one house need?
(I heard later on the news about someone who a few days later filled
their cart with nothing but table salt after the home supply stores had sold
out of bagged salt and sand!)
I’m not sure why, but it reminded
me of another panic that will take place in the future – when Jesus returns to
earth and raptures his church, leaving behind those who have chosen not to
place their faith in him. Matthew 24:36-44 describes a little of
what will take place at that time – when two people will be working side by
side, and one will suddenly be gone while the other remains. We used to sing a Larry Norman song at youth
group when I was a teen called “I Wish
We’d All Been Ready”. The powerful
lyrics reminded us that we all had friends and others around us who needed to
hear the good news of salvation before it was too late.
I’m not one to use scare tactics to
witness to people. I think each of our
own stories of God’s work in our lives is much more effective as a witness than
the methods used by fire-and-brimstone preachers of the past. But the
question for each of us is this: are we consistently telling those around
us – especially those who don’t know God yet – the story of what God has done
for us and what he has done for them?
Admittedly, I’m much better at telling my stories to fellow Christians
than to the non-Christians around me.
But those people we all know, who
still need a restored relationship with the God who created them, will be part
of the end-time panic when we are no longer here to be a witness. Only
God can save a soul, but he has chosen to use us to present his message to a dying
world. I have been newly convicted
to do a better job of showing those around me why I love God and why their
relationship with him is more important than anything else. I don’t have to be a great evangelist to be a
good witness regarding God’s work in my own life.
