She was smart, but not very
attractive. Kids often made fun of her. Marie lived around the corner from Jim
growing up, but they never once walked home together.
After
Jim became a Christian, the Lord convicted him about loving others as Jesus
would. One day at lunch during his senior year, he walked past Marie, who was
eating alone. He stopped to ask her a question. She looked at him as if to
ask, Why would a snob like you talk to me after all these years?
The
next day he brought some of his friends together to eat lunch with Marie. Their
little group ended up eating with Marie for a week, and they invited her to
come to a Christian Campus Life Club meeting. After quietly considering their
invitation, she cautiously told them, “Well, …okay.”
One
day after a club meeting, Marie asked him, “Why are you doing this? No one
has ever eaten lunch with me since the seventh grade until your friends sat
with me last month.” She had eaten alone at school every day for over five
years. Jim told her that he had recently become a Christian and God had
moved his heart to reach out to her.
Eight
years later, Jim spoke
at a Campus Life camp in California. After his talk, one of the leaders walked
up to him and asked, “Do you remember me?” Jim knew she looked familiar, but
before he could answer, she said, “I’m Marie. I’m now in charge of the
Women’s Ministry for an entire county in Southern California.” Then
she added, “Thanks for having lunch with me years ago.”
Jim was at a
loss for words. He said that all he could do was cry. (MORE
Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals)
Do
you know anyone like Marie? Someone who is a loner? Maybe someone who everyone else
overlooks? That might be the person the Lord wants you to reach out to by
sharing the gospel. You never know what God will do in that person’s life if
you’ll just make an attempt to connect. Jesus said, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). It might begin by talking to someone who
is eating alone in the cafeteria. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
VIDEO TEACHING OF THE WEEK Each week I will post a new video teaching. In this week’s video Allen Parr interviews Dr. Jeremiah Johnston about The Top 10 Biblical Archaeological Discoveries. (click to watch)
