Tuesday, June 15, 2004
I never had a conversation like this before!
I was at work last night and I was in plane (I wish I could find a picture so that you can see what I am talking about) and so was Jeff. He has been gone from work for awhile and before that we were working in different areas so we hardly ever saw each other. So last night we worked together and I told him how I got my pants...My sister and I were driving down the road and we stopped at a stop light and I told my sister to open her door and pick up the jeans that were on the ground. So she did and then I told her to check the pockets for money. No luck there but they were a couple sizes too big for me but they could be held up with a belt. So now I have new work pants! For free!...Then I told him the story how my brother got a new pair of Abercrombie and Fitch shorts from a guy at the airport. The guy paid him $25 dollars for his junky Ross jeans that he got a couple years ago...That was when Jeff said, "I never had a conversation like this before!"
Later in the night, we were standing around waiting and we started talking and he started saying stuff about God and how he thinks that God makes us do everything. I told him that I thought that we had free will. Then he said that God created our brains and our conscience and so that is His way of controlling us. The whole time he was talking I kept on asking God what to say to Jeff. I knew this was an opportunity. Then Jeff was saying that he thought that he didn't need to go to church. He thinks its good for people who get out of jail and need to keep their lives on track.
Then he asked me why do I go to church. Why do I get up at six o'clock in the morning to go to church. I didn't really know what to say. Why do I go to church? Why do I give so much of my time to do all this stuff? Why do I get up so early on Sundays to go to church? I had stopped to think all this and Jeff made a buzzer sound like he was saying, "Bad answer." I told him that I go that early so that I can make a difference in the kids lives in my youth group. He said there are kids all over the place why do you have to do it at church. Why not go to Africa? I told him that I did and that is what I want to do with my life. Then I told him that the reason that I go to church is because of the love that God has for me. That I had a boyfriend and that he loved me and I couldn't imagine any love greater that my boyfriend's but God proved to me that His love was greater than my boyfriend's. That God's love for me was so great that I couldn't explain it. Then Jeff said, "Lots of stuff is hard to explain." Then he walked away and sat down and our conversation was over.
I felt really bad afterward. I felt like I had failed God in this opportunity that He had given me to make a difference in Jeff's life. I was stumped, I didn't know what to say. I didn't know why I went to church. I need to be more on my toes. I need to be ready at any time. You never know when you will need to tell somebody something. It is important to know why you are a Christian.
|
Later in the night, we were standing around waiting and we started talking and he started saying stuff about God and how he thinks that God makes us do everything. I told him that I thought that we had free will. Then he said that God created our brains and our conscience and so that is His way of controlling us. The whole time he was talking I kept on asking God what to say to Jeff. I knew this was an opportunity. Then Jeff was saying that he thought that he didn't need to go to church. He thinks its good for people who get out of jail and need to keep their lives on track.
Then he asked me why do I go to church. Why do I get up at six o'clock in the morning to go to church. I didn't really know what to say. Why do I go to church? Why do I give so much of my time to do all this stuff? Why do I get up so early on Sundays to go to church? I had stopped to think all this and Jeff made a buzzer sound like he was saying, "Bad answer." I told him that I go that early so that I can make a difference in the kids lives in my youth group. He said there are kids all over the place why do you have to do it at church. Why not go to Africa? I told him that I did and that is what I want to do with my life. Then I told him that the reason that I go to church is because of the love that God has for me. That I had a boyfriend and that he loved me and I couldn't imagine any love greater that my boyfriend's but God proved to me that His love was greater than my boyfriend's. That God's love for me was so great that I couldn't explain it. Then Jeff said, "Lots of stuff is hard to explain." Then he walked away and sat down and our conversation was over.
I felt really bad afterward. I felt like I had failed God in this opportunity that He had given me to make a difference in Jeff's life. I was stumped, I didn't know what to say. I didn't know why I went to church. I need to be more on my toes. I need to be ready at any time. You never know when you will need to tell somebody something. It is important to know why you are a Christian.
|
