Saturday, August 13, 2011

My Neighbor


"Several years ago, a friend told me about a man named Roy who lived in our neighborhood. Roy had a very serious heart ailment, and there was nothing more that could be done for him. So he had been discharged from the hospital and was basically sent home to die.

My neighbor said to me, "Roy is not a Christian, but he has been to one of your crusades. Maybe you should try and talk to him."

One morning, my wife and I were out walking when my neighbor pointed out Roy to us. So we walked over to him and introduced ourselves. As we talked, it became clear that Roy was not a believer. He had a lot of questions.

Every day, we ran into him and would talk a little bit more. Then I gave Roy a copy of my book, Life. Any Questions?, which presents the gospel message. I encouraged him to take the book home and read it and then asked if we could talk again.

Roy came back the next day and said, "I read your whole book." He had more questions. We talked a little bit more, but Roy still did not seem ready to make a commitment to Christ.

One morning, as we were having family devotions, I looked out the window. There was Roy, standing in front of our house. He was out on a walk and had stopped to rest, right in front of our house.

Here we were, reading the Bible, and Roy was standing there. I sensed it was time. So I walked outside and said, "Roy, let's talk a little more." As we talked, I said, "Roy, I think you need to settle this right now. You need to get right with God. Why don't you pray right now and give your life to Christ?"

He said, "I'm ready to do that."

"Great," I said. So we prayed, and Roy asked the Lord to come into his life.

The next morning, we saw Roy. He had a big smile on his face. He said he had just been singing "Jesus Loves Me." Every time we saw Roy, it seemed like he had grown a little more.

His son-in-law told me later that Roy went to his whole family and announced, "You are looking at a brand-new Christian right now!"

Some time later, Roy's son-in-law knocked on our door. He said, "Roy died last night. I wanted to tell you."

Certainly there was sadness. But there also was the joy of knowing that Roy was in his new body in heaven. I thought to myself, "What if I had been too busy?" We can make up so many excuses. But God had provided me with a wonderful opportunity to talk with Roy.

So why take the time to share the gospel and hold events like the Harvest Crusades? The answer is obvious: It's the value of a soul.

God values the Roys of the world. He values you. And He values me. Yet in our culture today, we often place the greatest value on that which, for the most part, has no value. Meanwhile, we completely ignore that which has the greatest value.

Is anything worth more than a soul? The answer, obviously, is no. God values the human soul. And so should we." - Pastor Greg

2 comments:

  1. Dear Pastor Greg, Thank you for your inspiring story that reminds us of how we must lay up treasures in Heaven rather than being caught up in the perishable, transitory treasures the world values. The only things that are eternal are God, His Word, and the human soul, yet sometimes we act as if it doesn't matter where those souls will spend eternity. I have told my Bible study class that if we knew a simple and surefire cure for a fatal disease, like AIDS, wouldn't we devote our lives to telling everyone who had it how to be cured? Yet, as believers, we know the surefire cure for not spending eternity in hell, but we are too timid, or too busy, or too politically correct to share the Gospel with lost souls. Thank you for your blog that should encourage Christians to spread the Good News before it is too late. I have become a follower of your blog, and I invite you to join mine, Saved by Grace (http://savedbygracebiblestudy.blogspot.com/). God bless you, Laurie Collett

    ReplyDelete
  2. May we all take the time for all the Roy's around us. This was a great story and reminder of God's love. The longer I live the more I see the need for Christian Love as the world deteriorates around us.
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.