Today just after 5 pm I stood with a 41-year old man and his mother in the parking lot of a playground where my children had been playing with his. What made this particular moment unusual was that we stood hand-in-hand as he prayed for us. And it wasn\u2019t a nice, short prayer.<\/p>\n
After overhearing them speaking to each other, I had thought they were discoursing about evangelism. Surprised, I decided to briefly encourage them as I left the park, but they turned the tables on me by kindly sharing Scripture and gracious exhortation with me. As providence willed, in 1998 they had actually been to Malamulele, a village about 1 hour from my house.<\/p>\n
Both son and mother were passionate about their Savior, Scripture, and evangelism, and I left with a warm heart thankful to God for fellow pilgrims who love Christ and aren\u2019t afraid to open up a little to a stranger. \u201cExhort one another daily.\u201d<\/p>\n
One weakness of American culture is the unconscious individualism that keeps many of us from simply greeting a stranger with a smile and eye contact. Showing the value of friendship is kind of like proving to someone that a fire is hot\u2014experience will teach them far more quickly than explanation. In the NT, friendliness is like personal responsibility, assumed everywhere even though there aren\u2019t many proof texts.<\/p>\n
This kind of initiative is dangerous because if you try it for any length of time you will get ignored, slighted, or tired, yet the payoff in strengthening other believers, discomfiting your selfish flesh, and opening up relationships with unbelievers should help to offset the liabilities.<\/p>\n
Some conservative Christians are not friendly meaning they do not readily reach out a hand, a smile, or an interested question. But those who are friendly will be a sweet taste lingering long after they\u2019ve left the presence of those they\u2019ve befriended. Don\u2019t you think Christ had that effect on many people?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today just after 5 pm I stood with a 41-year old man and his mother in the parking lot of a playground where my children had been playing with his. What made this particular moment unusual was that we stood … Continue reading