Remember Quantum Leap? Sam, Al, and Ziggy; I loved those guys. Sam was always put in these situations where he had to correct or redirect something so that everything would turn out ok in the end. Often times he thought he knew exactly what he needed to do but in the end it was something completely different; something he didn’t even see coming.
I feel like Sam sometimes. I have a couple of people that I know or work with that are not Christians. I used to think that God crossed our paths so I could witness to them. So God could use me to reach out to them and help them bridge that gap to salvation. Sure, once in awhile we’ll have a semi-deep conversation; one that tap dances around the subject. I bastardize a Lee Strobel, or C.S. Lewis quote, get hung up on some “how do you explain…(fill in the blank)” question they pose in the debate, and then that’s it. It’s over. No one saved, no angels partying in Heaven. Then I think what is it, why did our lives connect? What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to help this poor lost soul? Then it happens, that Quantum Leap, “Oh, Boy!” moment, I end up being me. I do something so human like; engage in gossip, talk like a long shoreman, tell a little white lie, something very “Jon”. And that’s when I figure out the purpose of this providential relationship. Because I find myself looking in to a large mirror that God placed in the hands of this unsaved person, while they call me out on the contradictions they just observed from this Christian.
I wasn’t placed here to get the girl to fall in love with the farm vet. It was to get the young Buddy Holly to write “Peggy Sue” not “Piggie Sue”. (If you get the reference, than you are a Quantum Leap Super Geek too.)
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i'm sure this is a very deep blog. but i am confused. maybe i am tired.
I was interrupted by an earthquake while writing the blog so perhaps it doesn't flow as well as I had hoped. Basically I meant sometimes in the midst of figuring out how God wants to use me to get to someone, I realize that God is using that person to get to me.
I know what you're saying about the mirror principle. A woman I used to work with once said to me (after "unfiltered-Heidi" showed up to a conversation and popped off about something) "you're not like any pastor's-wife-church-person that I've ever known." Ouch. I was really troubled by it - as I should have been. I thought that I had ruined any opportunity to share Christ with her - or anyone else for that matter. I made things right as best I could but I learned a valuable lesson that day... When you let people know that you're a Christ follower, they expect you to behave like one. If they don't see any difference between your behavior and the rest of the worlds, then what's the point?
ah yes...now i get it. well said.