Did you read about the appointment Grace arranged to share the Gospel with her coworker, Jan? Today I'm going to share with you another segment from chapter seven of Journey of Grace. I hope you enjoy "sitting in" on Grace and Jan's conversation! May it encourage you to step out in faith and share Christ with someone who does not yet know Him!
Grace decided to walk to the restaurant the next day as it
was only a few blocks from home. It was a little chilly, being,
the last week of November, but she appreciated the fresh air.
She arrived right at noon and found Jan sitting at a table,
waiting. After the two ordered their food, Grace pulled out her
little Bible which she carried in her purse.
“Thanks for meeting with me today, Jan. You may think
that this is just important to me, but actually, I want to talk to
you about the most important thing in your life. Let me start
out by sharing my testimony and then we’ll talk about where
you’re at, okay?”
“Okay.”
Grace shared her testimony as clearly as she could, making
sure that she explained how she actually got saved, and what
she was saved from. Jan seemed to listen intently.
“Now, Jan, can I ask you a question?” Grace paused
looking her in the eye.
“Sure.”
“If you were to stand before God today, and He were to
ask you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ what would your
answer be?”
“Well, um, I guess, I’d tell Him that I was a pretty good
person in this life and never did any awful crimes or
anything…” her voice trailed off as she knew this would be a
pitiful answer. She could see on Grace’s face that it was not
the right answer either.
“The thing is, Jan, God cannot have any sin in His
presence. Plus, He must punish sin because He is a holy and
just God.”
“So you’re sayin’ that if a person did just one wrong thing,
and everything else he did was good, that God would send him
to hell?” Jan frowned.
At that moment the waitress came up with their food.
“I’ll answer that in a minute.” Grace wished their orders
hadn’t come yet because she did not want the conversation to
be interrupted. She bowed her head for a brief prayer before
lunch. Thank you for this food, Lord, and help me to answer
this question for Jan. Grace and Jan started enjoying their
meal.
“The straight answer to your question is, yes. God would
send him to hell.”
Jan did not like the answer.
“Look at it this way: Let’s say a teenaged girl is walking
down the street with some friends, and a drunk driver swerves
and hits her. The girl dies. Later, in court, the drunk driver is
being tried, and he stands up and pleads, 'Your Honor, I’ve
done so many good things in my life, and I’ve given to the
church, and done community service, and lots of other good
deeds. Can’t you excuse this one wrong?’ What if the judge
then says, ’Okay. He’s right. I’ve known this man all his life,
and he has done a lot of good. I’m going to let him go free,
even though he has done this horrible thing. Surely he has
done more good than bad.’ What do you think the parents of
that girl would say? Do you think anyone would consider the
judge’s ruling just?”
“No, definitely not!”
“Jan, we can’t expect God to let us go free either. Our sin
deserves a just penalty, and that’s why Jesus came to save us:
because He knew that ‘all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.’”
At this point a light bulb went on in Jan’s mind. She
seemed to understand what Grace was saying. Grace shared
more verses with her about what Christ did on the cross.
“Thank you for spending your time today,” Jan said
soberly, “I need to go home and think about all this.”
“That’s fine, Jan. Just remember: this is the most important
decision you will ever make for yourself. I care where you
are going to spend eternity. I want to see you in heaven someday.”
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