Missed Opportunities

Photo by Karl JK Hedin on Unsplash

This past Saturday, a very dear friend of my husband lost his battle with cancer. I had been praying over him for a while—praying for healing from this horrible disease and for comfort for both him and his family. When Paul told me of his passing on Sunday morning, I felt a sadness drape over me. And, I have been carrying this sadness with me each day since.

I asked Paul if there would be a service for his friend. He told me no. He said that his friend was not religious and had requested that there be no funeral or memorial service. I never knew this about him. It had never even occurred to me to ask if he was a Christian or not, or what his religious beliefs were. And, this is when his loss really fell heavy on my heart.

Here was this man--a husband, a father, a friend. A man who was dearly loved. A man who loved to word-work and would send us some of his beautiful creations every year for Christmas. A man who cared about others. A man who loved and was loved.

And, he was lost. And, I missed the opportunity to help him be found. I missed the opportunity to witness to him. I missed the opportunity to share with him about Jesus and His love for us. I missed the opportunity to pray for him to be saved. I was praying for him, but I missed out on praying the most important prayer for him I could pray.

And, while I mourn his death, I also very much mourn the fact that I missed all these opportunities to truly help him. To help him find Jesus and eternal life. To help him find true comfort and peace here on this earth. I missed all of that.

And, I never want to do that again with anyone else.

Because, I mean, isn’t that truly why we are here? As Christians, isn’t that our life calling and God’s will for us? YES, yes, it is.

God’s will for our life is to be in a relationship with Him. To do this we MUST spend time in His Word. (See Proverbs 3:5-6) Then, we are called to love others and show them how much God loves them. (See John 15:12) Then, they too can be in a relationship with Christ and become our brothers and sisters.

But, I am not going to lie, it is not always easy to share about God and His love for us. In our current world climate, the devil is using every trick he has to deter us and sidetrack us. The devil loves to turn us against each other and poison our minds. But, it doesn’t need to be this way!

I am naturally shy and introverted. I have a hard time verbally communicating with others. But, I do much better when I can write or type out my feelings. And, I need you to know that I care about you and your soul. This is one of the main reasons I write this blog. I just communicate better this way.

Maybe you are like me and have a hard time talking to others. I think it is important to remind you that we can all show the love of Jesus to others in our actions. Follow the example Jesus gave us, himself. (See my post Follow the Leader for more on this.) Then, when an occasion presents itself let the Holy Spirit guide you and if you feel His prodding, speak boldly.

The time is now to share with others the love of Jesus. The time is now to spread the good news. Let us do it proudly together in both our words and actions.