For many years I’ve had the privilege to visit people in jails, prisons, hospitals, recovery centers and nursing homes, and I truly enjoy spending time with them. In nursing homes, I sing, teach Bible studies and appreciate hearing about their former lives.
The Lord has allowed me to make some precious friendships, and I want to share with you about a lovely lady I met. After a devastating stroke, she was no longer independent and is now in a comfortable setting where she is well taken care of. I love talking with her. A while back, in the middle of one of her stories, we discovered that long ago she was actually my mother’s next-door neighbor and, as children, they played together. What were the odds of that? Anyway, I love her positive and upbeat personality and how kind and thoughtful she is. She never married and lived a simple life of working and being a devoted member of her church, where she sang in the choir for over 50 years.
Barbara is intelligent with a clever sense of humor, and it warms my heart to watch her laugh. Recently she experienced a life-changing event that has caused me to do some serious thinking about the mission of every Christian. Within our conversations about God, it had not crossed my mind to be concerned about her spiritual condition. I felt confident she was a Christian and was ready to live with Jesus forever.
However, a couple of weeks ago, another minister visited this facility and brought a salvation message. In closing, he simply asked if anyone would like to accept Christ as their personal Savior and be born again. Barbara said a strange feeling of concern and guilt washed over , and later that evening she began to experience sorrow and conviction. The next week, the minister returned and prayed with her, and through God’s mercy, she received Jesus as her Lord.
When I came to see her, she was glowing with joy and excitement and said with all the years of going to church she could not remember anyone ever mentioning how Jesus came to redeem and save us. She told about being sprinkled when she was a little girl as a traditional formality and had never seriously felt the Holy Spirit revealing her need to accept Christ into her heart. So at 78 years old, she has now responded to God’s invitation, and with childlike faith, her spiritual eyes are open. I’m so grateful to the Lord that she received him before it was too late. After I left, I was concerned about my lack of discernment for not recognizing her need to be born again, and today I wonder how many individuals are living the same emotional pretense.