In The Grocery Store?

All Chrisitans must know how important it is to share our Jesus with the rest of the world. But if you are anything like me, it’s not something you easily do on a daily basis. Even as a missionary, I rarely lead someone to salvation. (Of course that fact must be backed up with the fact that I work with preschoolers all day.)

I've found that even though I live in South Africa, a strange and foreign land, I'm still living in a very safe Christian bubble. My roommates are Christians. My co-workers are Christians. Most of my spare time and social life is spent hanging out with members of the church or other volunteers...who are ALL Christians. And the times that I do directly speak about Jesus, I'm talking to children. I pray that I'm planting seeds in the hearts and minds of these little children. And perhaps some day they will grow up and be mature enough to make a decision to love Christ.

But I often wonder what I should be doing to tell others about Christ. I can't deny that I want every one to know the peace of salvation. We all know we have sinned....even the best of us are rotten at times. And being a good person isn’t going to get us into heaven. The only way to be close to God is get rid of sin. And the only way to do that is through Jesus. It’s easy to write it here, so why can’t I share this with the lady in the grocery store, or my neighbors, or even the security guard at my apartment complex. Would hearing about Jesus in a random way in the middle of their day be an effective way of showing them God's love? I know that I need to show God's love as much as I talk about it. But is there a point where I need to just shout it? Or do I just try harder to let my life be an example and hope God directs conversations so that I have a more natural opportunity to talk about Him? I wish there were hard and fast rules about when and where and what to say to people. They might go a little something like this.....

Rules for Sharing God with Others--101
A. Always talk about Him in the grocery store.
B. No matter what people say, always reply "God Loves You"
C. See how often you can redirect conversations by referring to Bible stories.
D. Speak to at least 3 non-church-goers every day and invite them to church.
E. Keep your windows down in traffic so that when you are stopped at a red light you can talk to the guy in the car beside you about Jesus.
F. Always wear Jesus shirts, jewelry and other paraphernalia....if you can't talk about Jesus, at least your shirt can.

Hahaha Unfortunately, I don't think we can know when and how to share God by making lists like that!

The one thing I have definitely learned while in South Africa is that serving God comes in many shapes and forms. Teaching children, caring for abandoned babies, leading youth, starting new churches, building new churches, playing instruments, delivering donations to small towns, leading Bible study, planning church fellowship time, passing out food parcels, hanging out with kids in the park, sending care packages with Little Debbie Cakes, donating money and time, planning retreats, sharing the good news of God's love with words...........I could go on and on. There are so many ways to serve God. I pray that God makes it clear to me (and to you) how to serve Him TODAY. Do we have to share God by talking to the people in the grocery store? Maybe, but thank God there are hundreds of other ways too!