Today I had a friend come visit me at school. It was sort of spontaneous. I had invited him to come to the Latino Ministry with me on Sunday, but he ended up not coming because his parents were greatly opposed to the fact that our church is not Roman Catholic. I was greatly bummed out by this fact because I really wanted him to hear from God.
However, after he told me he could not come on Sunday, I told him we would need to get together sometime this week. That happened to be today. I had no idea what he had planned for the few hours we were going to spend together, but I had a plan in mind: tell him of the great love Jesus has for him.
My team from my Leadership in Ministry class met today for a time of prayer. We prayed for my friend during this time. And I also prayed for myself. I wanted to get my motives straight. I didn't want to share the Gospel with him for my own glory, but to bring glory to God. I didn't want to have any selfish motives. I also knew I couldn't do it on my own.
God answered our prayers.
I don't know how it happened, but somehow some aspect of "religion" came up when we were talking, and I mentioned how I don't like classifying myself as religion. This was a very small window of opportunity, and I took it. It's what many like to call a Divine Appointment. God orchestrated this time with my friend today, and He allowed the conversation to lead to spiritual matters. I took that opportunity (with slight hesitation, I must admit). I was scared at first because I had no idea how he would respond. However, God gave me the boldness and I went for it. We talked about religion, faith, and what it really means to be a Christian. The conversation lasted for about forty-five minutes, praise God. I was doing most of the talking, but my friend was listening very intently. I shifted the conversation from basics to the gospel about halfway through. This is what I wanted to really get through to him.
As I was explaining the story of the gospel to my friend, I could tell he was intrigued. Growing up in a catholic family, he knew the basics. However, he still believes that salvation must be earned. He argued that just like trust must be earned by others, so must our forgiveness from God be earned. I continued to explain how salvation is a FREE gift from God. And boy, was he listening. And just when I could see the words had hit his heart, he built a wall. He said, "How'd we start talking about religion? Why are we talking about this? Let's talk about something else. I don't want to talk about this anymore." I didn't try to push him.
I was so very glad God had spoken to my friend through me. I know it wasn't by my own doing because verses were flowing out of my mouth. It was like I wasn't even the one talking at times. Yet, I was a bit disappointed that he closed up right when the truth was hitting him. But I can find hope in that because I could see in his eyes that it DID hit him. Just when it was starting to make sense, he shut it out.
I had told him on Sunday that I wanted to give him something. After our "religion" talk, he asked me what it was I wanted to give him. Because he had just shut out that topic, I told him to wait. Before he left, I slipped a copy of Surprised By Faith in the backseat of his car. For some reason, I felt like I shouldn't hand it to him directly. I followed that prompting and discretely placed the book in the backseat.
Not much later, we got hot chocolate in the CLC on campus. In his car, my friend had on what he called "urban" music. There was a lot of profanity and inappropriate language. I had mentioned that I like to listen to some Christian rap and Spanish reggae. So while we were drinking our hot chocolate, he asked to see my ipod, and he was listening to parts of each song that I had, some in English, some in Spanish. This, too, gave me hope and reassurance that our conversation earlier had an impact on him.
I also know our conversation had meaning because he asked me about five other times, "How did we start talking about religion?" He never said any more than that, but no more was needed. I knew that he was still thinking and processing through what I had said (rather, what the Holy Spirit said through me).
I know he has a lot to deal with right now, but that is why I felt I needed to share the gospel with him. He needs Jesus in his life. I ask that for all who read this, please be praying for my friend. I know God will work a miracle in his life, but not by my own strength or somebody else's strength, but through the power of God.
I thank God for the opportunity he gave me today to present the gospel to my friend. I do believe this was a Divine Appointment God set up in advance. But I know that it would not have gone as well as it did if I had not prayed beforehand. I give all glory, honor, power, and praise to my King and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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