There is a truth that we sometimes lose sight of. A truth that is central to the good news that Christ is the answer for everything we are struggling with. In an age of mass media.....huge meetings....flashy presentations of the Gospel...it still is about "the one".
The one whose heart is breaking...
The one who sits among a crowd, yet feels totally alone.
The one who mind tells them that they are so worthless that ever Christ would have nothing to do with them.
I love to watch a crusade on TV and see crowds stream to the front to be saved. I mean..come on....what heart would not be stirred by such a sight. But deep in me, there is a thrill and a joy that comes when "the one" has the light of the Holy Spirit shinned into their heart and they see Christ as the answer to all their questions.
Last night as I drove out to Rapha for our Tuesday night Bible study, I was wondering who would show up. There had been a turn over in staff and clients to the point that there were a lot of new folks.
I made my way into the chapel, and waited.
One person showed up.
I introduced myself, he sat down and we began.
II Corinthians 3:18 -- We are being changed moment by moment by the work of the Holy Spirit. The old character is being redefined as old ways,thought and behaviors are being taken out, to be replaced by the fruit of the Spirit ( love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control).
Why would God come at us in this manner? So that we may become more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. I could hear the wheels turning in the guy's head as we talked and shared with each other. He had questions. Good questions. Questions that revealed he was serious about his new found relationship with Jesus.
As we finished, he asked for prayer, laying out the situation that faced him. Truth be known, a situation that has no answer other than the intervention of Christ. There in that chapel, the two of us went before our creator and laid out our inability to exact any change at all. Recognizing God as the only source of power who could help, we asked for His presence and plan to attack the problems.
As we walked out of the chapel, the young man commented how much he loved the study. He said that he felt bad for me that he was the only one to show up for the study, but was glad in a way that it had turned out the way it did. "It was kind of neat just being the only one there with you," he said. I agreed with him.
As I got in my car to head home, I thanked God for "The one".
This evening had been for "the one".
Maybe that scripture about the one lost sheep is really true.
God will leave the 99 to go after the one.
God on you..
mbb
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