I got a text right before I got off work yesterday from a friend who was struggling with something and needed to talk about it.  I met this guy 3wk ago and only met with him once, but now he's calling me wanting to talk.  He's a college student, so I drove out to the campus to meet him.

We took a walk around campus, played some pool, went out for dinner, and I even helped him with some of his homework.  All the while, I kept brining up spiritual things with him by taking his worldview and continually comparing it to what the Bible says.

At one point I was talking about who God is and his authority and the consequence for those who don't submit to His authority.  He was shocked to hear me say that if someone isn't a Christian they would go to hell.  I was shocked that he was shocked by that statement.

Not only does he claim to have a roommate who is a "pious" Christian, but he also hangs out a lot with a Christian fellowship on campus; yet he's never heard what I had just told him.  It was a stark reminder to me that we take the Gospel for granted in that we assume because we live in America, everyone knows who God and Jesus are and that if you don't believe in Them you won't go to heaven but hell.

My point is this, it's no one's responsibility but our own to share the Gospel with others, even if they say they go to church or are even active members.  Let's not assume that they have the same understanding of the Gospel that we do.  We must intentionally share the Gospel with everyone including leaders in ministry because weren't the Pharisees the most knowledgeable spiritual leaders of their day?

Enough said.  No excuses.  Go tell someone.

As kids we've always been told by our parents never to talk to strangers.  As adults, we still listen to the reverberating voice of our parents in our head.  I'd like to propose a shattering reality.....we aren't kids anymore!

That's right, we have a few years of experience under our belts, and we're not as vulnerable or naive as we once were.  So, let's do a bit of a mind shift here and consider all the opportunities (i.e. strangers) that we are constantly encountering to share the Gospel.

A recent example in my life is my encounter with Todd.  He's a man in his mid 20s who I see all the time walking on the side of the street.  The other day it was cold and snowing, and I had an hour to spare.  So I pulled over and told him to get in.  He got in and since he didn't have a specific destination, we drove for a little while and finally pulled over in a parking lot to talk.

My talk with Todd ended up being a great conversation about Truth and the fulfillment of life that is only found in Christ.  Since then, I've run into him once more, and we had another good talk in a parking lot, and by then he was more comfortable around me and began opening up about his personal struggles.

In conclusion, I submit to you that we must take initiative and be bold in our witness of Christ, suppressing certain paternal voices in our head.  In so doing, we will have the privilege of witnessing the Holy Spirit do the miraculous work of transforming lives!