{to share or not to share...that shouldn't be the question}

I was in the grocery store tonight, like I am A LOT of the time (we are very regular at our local grocery stores.) and as I was checking out I told the 2 cashiers who were there about something exciting...something wonderful and heavenly.

I told them about Pirate Day at Krispy Kreme. "The deal is," I said, "if you talk like a pirate you get one free donut and if you dress up like a pirate you get a free dozen." I mean...how amazing is that, right? A dozen free, hot, Krispy Kreme donuts. It is a wonderful, exciting thing. The 2 people I shared this with thought so too....in fact they said they were definitely going to do it because who doesn't want free donuts? Especially Krispy Kreme.

It was so easy to tell them about it. I felt obligated to do so too, because free donuts is something everyone should know about and take advantage of. I feel like I made their weekend that much better.

So why did I beat the steering wheel on my way home in anger and frustration? Why did I cry for 15 minutes straight when I reached the privacy of my bathroom? Why do I feel sick right now?

Because in the minute I spent telling these 2 guys about free donuts I could have told them about Jesus Christ, the Source of eternal life.

And I didn't.

And I don't know about you, but eternal life...donuts...I love me some Krispy Kreme but eternal life is, well, eternal life. 

In the minute I spent talking about the warm, glazed sugary goodness that makes up a Krispy Kreme donut, I could have been sharing the beautiful redemption we can have through Jesus Christ. I could have told them about how, on our own, we can't get to heaven, and that we are all headed for eternal death...aka hell. I then could have told them about the glorious Good News of the cross and what that means. I could have encouraged them to repent, turn away from their sins, and trust in Jesus.

But all I told them about was that you can get free donuts tomorrow. 

Donuts are good, but they only last so long, and if you eat too many you get a stomach ache and feel sick for hours. In the moment of each bite, they taste "heavenly" but then after a few the taste gets a little too much and...you know, stomach ache. 

Eternal life is...well, ETERNAL LIFE. And Jesus Christ well, He is the King of the world. And eternal life WITH Jesus....y'all. Living forever with the King of the world? 

Even if Krispy Kreme donuts didn't give you stomach aches...they come no where close to that.

Our lives here on earth are short...a vapor actually, here one moment and gone the next. We never know which breath will be our last. We never know what is gonna happen. We can plan and plan all we want but one day, either tomorrow or years and years from now, we are gonna die and after that...comes judgment. Either you're going to heaven or you're going to hell.

Hell is terrible and I don't want to go there. I don't want anyone to go there.

The only way to heaven is Jesus Christ, trusting in Him. 

We are fallen. We are sinners, sinners can't enter the kingdom of God, and the wages of sin is death.

Jesus died on the cross. God was satisfied. The price for our sins was paid and God will remember them no more.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." Hebrews 3:20-21

We can have that citizenship! 

Life is precious.

Christians, we have the hope of eternal life and something so great we should be sharing every chance we get. We are commanded to share Him. This is a life or death situation...there is no question of whether or not we should share the Gospel. 

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” Charles Spurgeon

He is the greatest.

His way is the only way.

JESUS IS THE BEST.

Why is it so hard to share Him?

Today we are so caught up in fitting in, not offending anyone, not being "crazy".  We live in a fallen world and not everyone believes or wants to believe in Christ. We are a fallen race and we don't want to be told about our sin and where we are headed because of it. 

But until we recognize that we are sinners and realize that we can't do anything to make that go away on our own, we won't see our desperate need for Christ and His saving grace. 

In the end it's all about Him, not us.

And we can't let what people think about US stop us from sharing about HIM. 

Because what if the cashier at Walmart dies on his/her way home and he doesn't know about Jesus? 

There are people all over who need to hear Him. They need HIM. And we have to share it. 

It's hard, I know. 

You should see me practice in front of the mirror, talking to myself in the car...totally psyching myself up to tell people about Jesus. I have figured out a way to turn every conversation I might have with any random person about anything into a conversation about the Gospel. 

But then there I am...having a random conversation and nope. None of the perfectly planned words are coming out. I say something else, anything else, except the Gospel message. And then I say "Have a wonderful day!" and leave. Without giving them the best message of all.

I am a hypocrite. Because I am always posting about being bold, sharing Christ, spreading His fame throughout this dark world, throwing the seed and praying that it grows.  But I chicken out when it actually comes time to share Him. When I am in the situation where I can bring others to Christ, I convince myself "Not today...next time." But you know what Neva? there may not be a next time.

It's not about what they think of us, it's about HIM.

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

In the end it doesn't matter if the people of this world approve of me...in the end it only matters what Christ knows of my heart. Is He the main focus and desire of my life?

Tomorrow my family is dressing up like pirates to get free donuts. So are a lot of other people...so are those 2 guys I talked this afternoon. We do some crazy things to get free food...especially donuts. We have our costumes, we have our hungry bellies...we are ready for this.

And tomorrow I guarantee that I will have the opportunity to share Christ with someone. So will you. We have the Gospel. We have Christ. We have Him to point to....we are ready for this.

The question is this:

Will we share Him or not? 

Dear Neva, it's time to practice what you preach.