Mauricio argued with the Lord. "I don't want to give him this tract," he protested. Yet, because he had the booklet "The Gift from Heaven" in his pocket, something he usually didn't carry, he relented. "Want to read a good story?" he asked the man at the car wash who glanced at it briefly and then set it aside.
Mauricio, like me, belongs to an American culture intimidated and shamed for sharing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. As Dr. Dan Stewart shared recently at my church, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is too often invoked when it comes to personal witnessing.
A few weeks earlier, I gave the same booklet to a former UFC cage fighter, now a famous trainer. I was hesitant; maybe he would combine the dreaded "mind your own business" refrain with a head butt!
But like most of our witnessing fears they are over exaggerated. This imposing fighter was grateful and open to the message of the Gospel. The man at the car wash approached Mauricio thirty minutes later,
"You saved my life."
This booklet briefly chronicles Mauricio's tragic birth and his struggle with paternal abandonment. It combines his personal journey with a clear, heartfelt Gospel message. People may argue theology, but few can refute a changed life.
"You see, I've abandoned my four children and haven't asked them to forgive me," the man confessed in hushed tones. "Now, this year will be different. I will spend this Christmas with them," his voice rose slightly as he promised a stunned and humbled Mauricio.
Witnessing is ultimately about storytelling. It's telling someone about our story and how it intersects with the Greatest Story ever told.
For those of us who could be bolder, giving a booklet to someone may be as far as we will go. But if we do so, open to the Spirit's prompting, lives will be changed.
Of course, I can't help but wonder-- what if every member of every Foursquare church would follow the Spirit's leading to give the booklet to just one person?
I think Heaven would rejoice.
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