This article was published in Moody magazine\u00a0in October, 1992.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence,\u00a0 I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. <\/em>Philippians 1:27-28<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Although this was a business trip, it still seemed like another vacation, and part of me felt guilty.\u00a0 I had mixed emotions about the time and money spent on trips, and yet, I couldn’t help\u00a0 enjoying the warmth of the sun and the beautiful surroundings.\u00a0 The Southern California sun can be very warm, and hotels such as this one, the Newporter Inn, can be quite impressive.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I smiled as the woman behind the counter acknowledged the bellman who would show me, and my luggage, to my room.\u00a0 He wasn’t the typical stereotype of a bellman.\u00a0 He was in his sixties, short, but agile.\u00a0 He loaded my luggage with ease, as though he had been doing this for a very long time.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I felt as though I was at an amusement park instead of a hotel as I was shown to the large, gold, cart-type vehicle which we would use to find my room, somewhere on these twenty plus acres.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not wanting to ride in silence, I commented to my guide, ” I grew up around here and so I remember when all of this was a neglected mud flat called, back bay.”\u00a0\u00a0 He gave a typical reply to such a remark, but then added a thought about time itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “We, as people, believe time is passing us by when, in actuality, it is the opposite.\u00a0 We are passing through time.\u00a0 Time is stationary.\u00a0 Just like sitting on a train and thinking the scenery is passing us by but, really, the opposite is true, we are passing the scenery.”<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As I carefully considered his answer, a maverick thought ran through my mind, why not try witnessing to this man?\u00a0 I call it a maverick thought because telling others about my faith in Jesus is very difficult for me, even though I’ve been a Christian for 27 years and have spent part of that time as a foreign missionary and a youth pastor’s wife.\u00a0 I think I’m just plain afraid of rejection, and although I know all the Bible verses which should counteract that fear, the fear still controls me.\u00a0 It still causes my legs to shake.\u00a0 But, this time, feeling relaxed, and not too shaky, I just thought, “oh well, I’ll never see this guy again, so why not?”<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I’m currently in a Bible study and we have been reading the book of Genesis where it talks about God as the creator of time.\u00a0 Because we live in time, it is next to impossible to comprehend that time was created.\u00a0 But, God was here before time and it is His creation.”\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I really didn’t expect an answer, after all, talk about God usually makes people clam up real fast.\u00a0 However, Stan (according to his brass plated name-tag) answered with more philosophy about time.\u00a0 And I listened.\u00a0 In fact, I listened carefully and, I even prayed.\u00a0 “Lord, please help me to pay attention to Stan’s words. To really be able to tell what his needs are from what he says. Oh, and, please, don’t let me make a complete fool of myself!”\u00a0 \u00a0 Just the day before I had read an article about the importance of really listening to people and those words had made me very aware of how poor of a listener I really am.\u00a0 So I tried to concentrate and listen very carefully.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He talked on and on.\u00a0 We kept pausing.\u00a0 He unloaded my suitcases from the large cart to a smaller cart.\u00a0 We walked around corners and down walkways, and he kept talking.\u00a0 The 10 minute service turned into 20 minutes, and then 30.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I asked a few questions and made a few statements.\u00a0 I couldn’t believe how his statements left such wide openings for the Gospel.\u00a0 He mentioned an emptiness inside and I told him that he was created with an empty vacuum so\u00a0 God, and only God, could fill it with Himself.\u00a0 He talked about being thirsty for something more in life. I told him about John, Chapter Five, where Jesus had said He could give living water so one would never thirst again.\u00a0 Stan even said that we use words to communicate but\u00a0 he wanted more than words. I told him that Jesus became the Word of God and dwelt among us to show us God.\u00a0 And then, Stan said he didn’t want books, he wanted an experience.\u00a0 I was able to tell him that 27 years ago I had just such an experience.\u00a0 I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life and to take over, and He had.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No, he didn’t pray to receive Jesus.\u00a0 He wasn’t convinced that the Bible was true or that Jesus was the only way, although I told him that Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth and the Life.\u00a0 Stan just wasn’t convinced, but then he said something that really startled me.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I’ve worked here almost ten years and I’ve never had a discussion with a customer like this before;\u00a0 nor has anyone ever\u00a0 listened to me as well as you have.\u00a0 I have really enjoyed our conversation, and I especially want to thank you for listening.”<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I thanked him and he left.\u00a0 I was alone in the room and completely overwhelmed with the idea that someone had called me a good listener.\u00a0\u00a0 A good listener – that phrase crashed into my consciousness.\u00a0 Perhaps, that is what witnessing is all about, not being so preoccupied with what I am going to say, but only occupied with what the other person is saying.\u00a0 It had seemed as though, as I really listened, God had given me the words to say.\u00a0 If all I have to do, really, is listen… well, maybe, even I could learn to “witness.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This article was published in Moody magazine\u00a0in October, 1992.\u00a0 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence,\u00a0 I will know … Continue reading