My Daughter-in-Love Said

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 18:2-4 NLT

My daughter-in-love, Donna, wrote this devotion:

When you are at a restaurant, you can expect to overhear conversations about what is good or not so good on the menu. When you are at church, you can expect to overhear conversations about how someone has been blessed or how you can pray for someone. When you are at a football game, you can expect to overhear conversations about how the defense is doing or what call the refs missed. What you don’t expect to overhear when you’re yelling “DEFENSE!” is someone nearby asking “Are you a Christian?” or “Do you know God loves you?”

Wait. What? Who’d she just ask that? Or better yet. Why didn’t I think to ask that?

God has instructed us as Christians to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. (Mark‬ ‭16:15‬). So I shouldn’t be surprised when nearly every conversation my daughter has with a stranger includes “Do you believe in God?” Instead, I should be encouraged and challenged to do likewise. 

My dad modeled the same mission before me. “Go and make disciples of all the nations..." (Matthew‬ ‭28:19). What would start as a simple “Hey there!” or “How’re you doing?” usually ended with “Do you know God as your Savior?” and “How can I pray for you today?” At a restaurant, at church, at a football game, in a grocery store, at the park, the setting didn’t matter. What mattered was that before walking away from the conversation a sharing of God’s love for that person happened. 

Too often I hang back and listen as people talk or I share a smile or a wave as I continue on my way to finish my to-do list, but there’s something more important than my to-do list. God has called us to a purpose - to go and share His love and salvation with others. May my conversations include His purpose. May I make another’s soul a priority to me and be the one who asks “Are you a Christian?”

God has given each of us the greatest gift we could ever receive - salvation. May we each share His gift in the conversations we have with others.

Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for sending Your Son to die on the cross for our salvation. Thank You for a daughter-in-love whose heart is after You and together with her husband is raising their child in the nurture and admonition of You, Lord. We pray for continued opportunities to share the Good News. Let us be bold in bringing Your Gospel to a lost and dying world. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen