It was brought to my attention this week that God often individually customizes His approach to get our attention—especially when He’s hoping to lead us toward Him. For example, when He led the Magi to the Baby Jesus, He used a bright star because they were astrologers. When Paul preached in Ephesus (Acts 19), God worked through him by performing supernatural events. Many of the people in Ephesus were involved in occult practices and were naturally drawn to supernatural phenomena, whether from the demonic realm or from God.
Paul himself, before becoming a Christian, needed a colossal wake-up call. His primary goal in life was to persecute and kill Christians. What better way for Jesus to get his attention than to blind him for three days and personally speak to him? What an example of instantaneous salvation. Paul made a complete turnabout—never persecuting Christians again. Instead, he preached the gospel to thousands, bringing many to Christ.
I thought back to the means God used to influence me to move toward Him. It didn’t take me long to come up with the answer: friends! Being a relational kind of person, He knew there would be no better way than to surround me with friends who would influence me for Him. During my early days in nursing school, I became acquainted with a small group of Christian girls in my class—none of whom I had known previously. For reasons I didn’t understand then (but do now), I was drawn to them.
I began spending more and more time in their company. I was inspired that Sandy, Rose, and ZoAnne talked about Jesus as if He were their best friend. Before I knew it, I wanted that same deep relationship with Him. They became “my bright star” and led me to the Savior.
Stories like these impress upon me just how important each of us is to God—that He would custom design events for us. In Luke 12:7, Jesus tells us that we are so important to God that He even knows the number of hairs on our heads.
Could knowing how deeply He loves us—and how He customizes His approach to each of us—guide how we approach others with the Gospel? Maybe God could be introduced to a homeless person through the gift of a warm coat or a restaurant gift card. Perhaps the neighbor who’s a prominent businessman would respond best to the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30). And maybe the friendly waitress at the coffee shop could be introduced to Jesus by complimenting her for her cheerful, servant-hearted attitude—just like the one Jesus taught us to have.
This has given me something to think about this week: How can I custom design my gospel conversations?
Until next time… keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.