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FIRST-PERSON: Lord, make me uncomfortable


COLUMBIA, S.C. (BP) — “Lord, please give me an opportunity to share with Barry*,” I prayed halfheartedly as I walked up to my son’s ballgame.

I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, and it was so hot I decided to sit in the visitors stands in the shade.

If I was really being honest, I should have prayed: “Lord, I don’t want to be uncomfortable. Can you please just get someone else to talk to Barry and bring him to my air-conditioned church on Sunday?”

If you’re interested in personal comfort, you probably don’t want to engage in the Great Commission. Jesus constantly laid His comfort aside to restore others to Himself and voluntarily gave Himself up to be crucified on a cross. He crucified the fantasy that personal security would be granted to those who followed Him when He said, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Fortunately, Jesus answered my prayer that day and made me uncomfortable. Barry obviously didn’t want to talk to anyone either, so he also was sitting in the visitors stands. We sat and made small talk, and then he got up and moved to the home stands, directly in the sun. The Lord had gotten my attention, so I joined him.

I asked him where he was from, and he said he was from a small town where there were three churches and six bars. I then crossed the line of comfort and asked, “So which one of those did you go to?”

He stood up, threw his drink on me, and yelled as everyone looked at us, “Why are you judging me?”

Wait. That’s not what he said. That is what I had imagined he would say.

He was actually very open about his time in church, his baptism and his absence from church the past 20 years. I listened to him, talked to him about my beliefs, and invited his family to church. The conversation was engaging and comforting.

We talk ourselves out of Gospel conversations every day — conversations that others are more than willing to have. It’s almost as if Satan stretches out a wet paper towel and says, “You better not try to push through this. It will break your hand.” We are naïve enough to believe him rather than pushing through the perceived discomfort and risking our personal security.

I suppose there will be other days when I talk my way out of starting a Gospel conversation. For Barry’s sake, and mine, I’m glad Jesus urged me to start this one.

*Name changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

    About the Author

  • Lee Clamp

    Lee Clamp is the evangelism group director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention and author of “Close Encounters,” available at CourierPublishing.com. He is on the Web at leeclamp.com.

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