Don was an 84 year old WWII vet who had a house built in our subdivision. Right from the start, he would be on the job site at all hours of the day, talking trash and giving the subcontractors a hard time. Of course, all of his grumblings were just in good fun and we had a good time trading jabs about whether construction standards are better now or the way they did it back in the day.
He got around pretty good for a guy his age, and he credited his health to a handful of peanuts and a can of beer every day. Who’s gonna argue with an 84 year old?
Every time I tried to bring up the subject of God, Don had a comeback that would end the conversation before it got personal. He told me once, “Me and the man upstairs got our own thing going. I leave him alone, he leaves me alone.” On another occasion, he told me that after seeing the things he saw in the war, he wasn’t about to take advice from a young whippersnapper like me. Too bad he didn’t acknowledge that the message of the gospel transcends age, race, sex, culture, etc. I remember pleading with him one day to realize that a man his age could really go at any second from all kinds of different things, and it would be no surprise. Didnt his God-given will to live provide any motivation at all to get right with God? At his age, there should be even more urgency. But he would laugh and insist that he had another 40 years left in him. Each time we would have one of these discussions, I would simply smile and wait for the next chance. After all, the guy was out there all the time, and our conversations were friendly enough that I knew there would be more to come.
Even after Don moved into his new home, he would still drive around the construction zone, in his familiar blue Ford, sometimes talking trash and sometimes just hanging out with crews on their lunch breaks.
One day he and I were talking at lunch, and I felt a very strong impression that this was going to be my last chance to really lay it all out for him and urge him to commit his life to Christ. So, with trembling voice, I began to reason with him about his need to finally humble himself and surrender to God. Something amazing happened. The hard old man softened up and listened intently while I shared the entire gospel with him. I could see from his facial expression that he really understood the message. Then I begged him not to ignore the voice of his conscience and make the decision today, because he wasn’t guaranteed tomorrow. Again, he laughed and said he planned to outlive me.
It was about two hours later that I received a phone call. Don had gone home, started mowing the lawn, and collapsed from a stroke. He died within about an hour of our last conversation.
Did Don make his peace with God? Lets hope so. But this is a great picture of how much God loves people. Who knows how many people he sent into Don’s life over those 84 years? Right up until his dying day, God’s patience and long suffering never wore out in reaching out to save that man.
You are going to have eternity to worship and serve God, but you won’t have eternity to tell your friends, loved ones and neighbors about the salvation you have in Jesus Christ. This is not a game. The next time you feel the urge to share the gospel with someone, DO IT!
You never know what God might be using you for.
Believe it or not, he can and will use you if you are available for the task. Will you swallow your pride, let compassion overcome your fears, and obey God’s longstanding call of duty, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Right after giving this command, Jesus said, “and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
He’s telling the truth. Go for it!