October 30, 2013

Editorial

Last July one of our neighbors died. In the final few weeks of his life Wilbur joked to his wife, Ann, “When I die, you’re going to have to hire six guys to serve as my pallbearers.”

When I went to Wilbur’s interment at Arlington National Cemetery, the reception area was packed with friends, neighbors, and family members. And later at his home neighbors dropped by to share a bite and a favorite memory about Wilbur. Most of the memories had to do with one thing: in pleasant weather he and Ann used to sit out on their front porch and wave at the people who drove by.

If you walked past their house, well, that was another matter. Wilbur always called out a greeting, and a verbal exchange would follow that might last from a few seconds to a few minutes. It wasn’t unusual to see in front of their house dog-walkers, parents with baby strollers, or people just out for a bit of fresh air. If Wilbur and Ann were on their front porch, you got a greeting.

I’ve been thinking about that recently as different ideas are floated for reaching people with the gospel. I mean, here we are, blessed with an ideal message about a wonderful Savior and a glorious future; a message that is mostly ignored.

Maybe those of us who have a heart for sharing the gospel with others should begin by being friendly to the people we see every day: neighbors, coworkers, friends, people behind the counter and across the desk. Maybe we should spend less time trying to convince them that they are wrong and more time demonstrating something of the love of Jesus.

It starts with just a wave and a friendly greeting.

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