I had a really interesting ride in the bus this morning. There was just
one person in a better mood than I was. An old man in the seat in front of me.
He wore a noticeably old hat with a badge in the centre which had a star... I didn't want to eavesdrop on what seemed to
be a rather captivating conversation between the old man and the guy seated on
his right hand side. He spoke in English, TshiVenda and SePedi interchangeably,
a true Limpopo man he was. The topics ranged from agriculture to the 10
Commandments even to history, heritage and culture. The conversation was
infectious and soon the lady on the far right woke up to lend an ear to the
multilingual and seemingly very interesting old man.
Needless to say, this old man challenged me. He challenged the very core
of my being (I kept thinking of the song Killing Me Softly) as he spoke… the
reason is though that he was unapologetically Christian with a captivating aura
about him. He spoke well and people wanted to listen to him. They laughed and
asked questions and laughed some more… oh what I would give to have that old
man’s sense of humour and audience connection. The old man was funny till the
end, right until my stop came up when I noticed his temperament had changed
slightly. See the old man (my hero) knew all but one thing, where he was going…
He had no clue where he would disembark.
I honestly learned a lot from that old man. I have always considered
myself to be shy. I like to keep to myself and bother nobody. It was the first
time I saw that old man in the bus today, but he managed to hold a long conversation
with people that I normally just say hello to. The lady seated on my right even
said “Vha sa rembuluwa namusi!” (translated “If you don’t repent today!”), this
referring to the guy seated closest to the old man.
You see I travel a lot, especially by car and bus... I haven't done the
research in this age, but many great ministries of the past including that of
our Lord Jesus were made possible by travelling. Whether on foot, on sea,
walking on the water, (even teleporting). Acts 8: 39-40 says “When they came up
out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never
saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.
Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He
preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to
Caesarea”.
The old man reminded me of a trip I took some time back. So I found
myself driving to Jozi from Polokwane and with 3 hitchhikers, and for 200 km I
was fighting within myself asking myself why I wasn't telling them about Jesus.
I thought to myself, but I’m shy! what would I say? And the Spirit said "I
will give you the words".. eventually I made a joke saying, how can you
guys sit in the same car with a prophet of the Lord and not want to know what
He has to say to you. The rest of the journey and conversation went the way the
Spirit wanted it to, pretty similar to the old man’s conversation.
Please do not undermine or despise the bus you use everyday to work or
school, the business flights, the uber rides, carpools... Jesus has placed you
exactly where you need to be to spread His gospel. Just like in the case of the
old man in the bus, Elijah, Elisha, Philip (who teleported) and many others,
there are people whose heavens have been closed up for years. These people’s
paths have been set to collide with ours not by chance but by divine connection.
All you need to do is open your mouth and begin to speak the words of life. The Bible even assures you that you need not worry
when you are brought before the synagogues, and even people in authority (Luke
12: 12) “For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”
My Peace I give you - Shalom
Many are times that we think the people to spread the gospel are those called to be pastor's,prophets etc. The word today tells me that I'm a vessel and can be used anywhere anytime. Shalom
ReplyDeleteHey Mokgadi, you truly are a vessel, there are people who you know and talk to on a daily basis that no pastor will ever get to talk to.. that is your pulpit
DeleteWe all have a ministery.
ReplyDeleteWe all have a ministery.
ReplyDeletebut we do beloved Comrade..
Delete