By: Steve Wilmot
Allow me to let you in on a little secret: You can influence the lives of others for Jesus more effectively than any pastor or church staff person can.
It’s true. You are God’s secret weapon. A person who has no interest in Jesus is far more likely to listen to your story about what Jesus did in your life.
That’s because they know you’re telling them because you really care about them and not because it’s your job.
They will accept your invitation to church more readily because they know you’re not getting paid to do it.
People who have problems will come to someone who’s been through the same problem before they ever come to a pastor, if they come to them at all.
I know a man who was battling cancer years ago. He refused to go to any of the pastors of his church to pray with him about it. He didn’t think they could. He believed they’d have nice, proper, religious words to say to him, and a programmed speech and routine prayer.
But then one of the pastors announced he, too, had cancer. The next week, this fellow approached that pastor to ask him to pray for him.
Why the change? Because there was someone who would understand what he was going through — the fear of the unknown, the sudden emergence of anger, the questions why and what if, the pain and fatigue that often accompany chemo treatments, and the heavy burden he felt about leaving his family on their own when he died.
If unbelievers observe how, you handle tough situations with hope and peace, they will come to you for help before they’ll ever go to a pastor who hasn’t experienced it himself.
Make no mistake about it — they are watching you. Observing you to see if what you say you believe about God is how you live when you’re going through a hellish storm.
They are watching. And if you pass their test, they will come to you when they go through what you did. They’ll believe you when you tell them how Jesus wants to give them peace and hope in the middle of their storm because they witnessed how he did for you in your worst moments.
They’ll listen to you when they would tune out a preacher’s sermon or prayer. You are God’s secret weapon. John tells a story about a man who was born blind. Jesus healed him.
As was often the case, this miracle of healing took place on the Sabbath which infuriated the religious leaders. They hated Jesus anyway, but this was like rubbing salt in their wounds.
The religious leaders summoned the man Jesus had healed to interrogate him. “How were you healed?” “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see” (John 9.15).
The leaders didn’t believe him. (More correctly, wouldn’t believe him.) So, they tried to discredit him. They asked his parents if he was their son. “Yes, he is.” And was he born blind? “Yes, he was.”
That didn’t work the way the religious leaders hoped. So, they tried to brow beat and pressure the man as they asserted there was no way Jesus healed him because He was a sinner.
Listen carefully to the man’s response; it’s priceless. “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9.25). End of conversation.
How do you argue with someone’s experience? You don’t. You can’t. That’s another reason you are God’s secret agent. Your personal walk with Jesus cannot be disputed by unbelievers around you. It’s staring them right in the face.
“Let me tell you what Jesus did for me. You remember all the bad things I did in high school and college and how they nearly wrecked my life? Since I met Jesus, I’m a changed person. You can see the difference Jesus made.”
“You remember when I was a drunk and couldn’t keep a job? Look at me now since Jesus came into my life.”
“That divorce was my fault because I couldn’t stop cheating on my wife. It did loads of damage to her, my kids, and me. But we’re trying to put our marriage back together now that I’ve decided to follow Jesus.”
There can be no debate when you were A, but now you’re B and the only difference is Jesus.
Your unbelieving friends will likely tune out a preacher who promises Jesus can make a remarkable difference in their lives. Who proclaims Jesus can give them a better life and make them better at life.
But they’ll listen to you. They know you, and they’ve seen the difference Jesus made in you — in your lifestyle, your perspective, your behavior, and your relationships. They’ve observed how you weathered terrible storms with a confident trust in God.
The truth is standing right in front of them. The proof is the radical contrast between your old life and your now life. You are God’s secret weapon. Never underestimate the influence you have for Jesus.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.