SPIRITUAL LIFE
Crossing Over My friendship with an elderly man taught me never to give up on sharing my faith BY CAPTAIN MATT SHEILS
I
’ll never forget the first time the doorbell rang at the church when I was a new officer. I opened the door to find an elderly Scottish man, in distress because his wife had recently passed away and his family was in conflict. He was desperate and looking for guidance. I have to admit, I felt completely unqualified to help him. Nothing in my experience seemed relevant to his needs. As we talked, I learned he was not a Christian, he was extremely stubborn and he was in need of companionship. This divine appointment was the beginning of a relationship that taught me a lot about evangelism. Over the next four years, I visited him regularly. Each time I brought up the Lord. These conversations rarely went very deep and he would often change the topic. On rare occasions, I had the privilege of hearing his heart. After a while, I became frustrated with our visits. I wanted him to surrender to Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, but he wouldn’t open his heart. Yet the Holy Spirit kept telling me not to give up. One day I received an urgent phone call. My elderly Scottish friend had been taken to the hospital and wanted me to come right away. I found him in a hospital bed, hooked up to medical equipment, waiting to hear test results. At first, the visit was like 22 June 2016 Salvationist
all the rest. I stayed with him for an hour and then told him I was going home. I asked if he would like me to read Scripture and pray for him. He said yes, to be polite. Halfway through a psalm, a nurse interrupted to do more tests. After she left, it surprised me when he asked me to continue reading. Then his demeanour changed—he was afraid he was going to die and asked me to lead him to Christ. I was overcome. How can I explain the next few moments? When you are used by God to harvest the seeds of faith, it is a humbling
experience. Let me tell you some of what I learned about evangelism through this relationship. God never gives up on the lost. This man was over 80 years old and had lived apart from God his entire life. That is a long wait for a soul. I waited only four years for this moment and my patience was fading. How faithful is the Lord and how precious each person is to him. Don’t expect a life change after you have witnessed. This is very important. A huge part of evangelism is planting seeds. There are usually several people
throughout a person’s life who contribute to planting the seeds of faith. The Holy Spirit makes the seeds grow and eventually someone has the privilege of harvesting the crop: “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour” (John 4:38). Jesus is explaining to his disciples that kingdom work is teamwork. Rejection is a normal response. I was rejected often. But rejection is not a bad thing when your witness is done out of love (see Ephesians 4:15 and 1 Corinthians 13:113). Rejection is a glimmer of the personal struggle the individual is having with the Lord. Wait and see. Don’t be surprised when they call you a few days, weeks, months or even years later, to thank you for your witness. I wanted to give up on my friend a few times, thinking he was too stubborn to ever surrender to Christ. But I’m glad I trusted in the Holy Spirit’s leading and not my own. When the Lord sends me to my heavenly home, I know who I am going to find there—my old friend. And we are going to have a great celebration! Go and plant the seeds of faith. Captain Matt Sheils is the divisional youth secretary and divisional secretary for spiritual life development in the Quebec Division.