I went out for street evangelism on Tuesday. We met 70+ year old Joe in the park and for once I didn't know what to say to him. He was from a Catholic background, and so I asked him what he knew of the person Jesus. In response, he started waving his arm around to gesture at the people around him.
"Young people these days," he growled, "have no idea what it's like to be hungry and poor. They've never had their homes bombed. That's why they think they don't need God anymore." (This is not word for word, but the gist of what he said)
How true indeed!
But because of that, I fell silent. All these different responses came to mind, but they got lodged in my throat. In an email to a friend, I said:
"I'm not sure why I was lost for words. I don't think I was intimidated as such, but I think it was because I felt so removed from his world of thinking and life and I felt anything I said would seem like a young, arrogant kid to him. He was talking about how people in today's society have no idea what it's like to live in poverty and have their homes bombed and stuff...and how people don't really think about God anymore...I think he must've been referring to his war time experiences. And I'd agree with him, and under normal circumstances I could've easily use that to talk about the gospel. But then I felt unqualified to challenge him because of the way he thought of young people. I didn't want him to think I was another one of those arrogant youths trying to lecture him on Jesus. So in the 1-2 sec that it took me to process that and become dumbfounded, my partner (who's a fair few yrs older) took over. *phew*"
My partner George ended up having a very good conversation with him. But even as the two of them were talking, I still could not recompose myself to join in. George tried to include me a few times but I could only stumble out with a few words. George explained Two ways to Live to him and invited him to CBF next week. He seemed to accept.
Although I dismally failed, I did learn from George in the way he handled the situation and spoke Joe. So aside from a slightly bruised ego, it was a rewarding experience.
<< Pray for Joe that the message of the gospel will leave a deep impression on him and provoke him to respond in faith and repentence. Thank God for George and the things I learnt from him that day. Pray that I can remember them for evangelism in the future.>>
Tomorrow I will also be catching up with an old work mate Jackson. We've spoken at lengths in the past about Christianity and he has a reasonable understanding of the gospel. Sadly, he continues to reject the lordship of Christ because he wants to continue living his hedonistic liftstyle.
I've tried to keep in touch with him, but on Sat he will be leaving for UK on a working visa for at least 2 years. Funnily enough, he main reason for leaving is to chase after his girlfriend. He has never been a playboy, but he never took relationships seriously either. But he fell head-over-heels over this girl who came traveling in Sydney for a few months. Never would've expected it from him, but then again, I never would've expected to have such good conversations with him about Christianity either.
So I'm meeting him for the last time tomorrow. I've given him a Bible and "A Fresh Start" in the past. This time I'll give him "1st Century Answers to 21st Century Questions" as a parting gift. The book is meant to be for Christians, but I think it'll be good for him to see how the Bible deals realistically with practical contemporary issues. Hope that he'll actually read it.
<< Thank God for the relationship I've built with Jackson over the years, and especially for the great conversations about Jesus. Pray that the Spirit may continue to stir up his heart so that through the Bible and through the Christian books he may one day come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus. Pray that I may be able to keep in touch with him even as he travels overseas so that I can continue to minister the Word of God to him. >>
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