Having spent only one short mid-day round
of meetings with Open Air Campaigners in downtown Chicago, I came away with a
profound realization of God’s sovereignty. He saves those He wills, when He
wills.
This is how it happened. The fella I was
with was preaching. He used the same wooden board, newsprint and poster paints
that I had in my arsenal. He sketched a background of Jericho with mountains in
the distance, ladder-lettering (now called lightning lettering) at the top to
eventually spell out “He Calleth for You.” [This was 30 plus years ago and the
King James Version was still alive and well.]
I watched the crowd, ready to witness or to
share the Gospel as soon as the message concluded. People who worked in the
Loop stopped on their way to lunch or sipped coffee while they watched the B’s
being collected: Blind, Beggar, Bartimaeus, Believed, Blessed. I scanned their
faces. Would they stay long enough for the invitation? Which of these would I
approach?
Here’s the curious part. The OAC fella had
given me a copy of the Four Spiritual Laws which I had never seen. Skimming it,
I nodded in agreement with what was presented but even I knew that you needed
to lean on the repentance part and that salvation had an emotional component
and … . Do you see the problem?
At the end the crowd dispersed quickly
except for one man. The OAC preacher stepped over to him and in a matter of
sixty seconds or less, both heads were bowed. The guy shook his hand and took a
tract, waving as he walked away.
When I asked what happened, “He just
accepted the Lord Jesus! Hallelujah!” But, but, how could that be? I wasn’t
dumb enough to say that out loud then and there but in the van on the way back
to the apartment, I voiced my doubt that it could be that easy.
“He didn’t even have time to digest what
you were saying!” No, the OAC guy agreed but he had a prepared heart. He had
heard the message before and suddenly the time was right to respond.
Huh! Why did I think it had to be harder,
earned with groaning or tears? Where had I gotten that idea? Why shouldn’t God
be Sovereign? Here endeth my first really profound lesson learned.
Cheryl Hagedorn
USA
Cheryl Hagedorn
USA
Thanks for your thoughts, Cheryl. The Holy Spirit does work in His own time, doesn't He! Some are 'ripe unto harvest' as scripture says. For still others, though, the agonizing and need to pray through to victory is real also.
ReplyDeleteWell written and thought out. Blessings!