Editor’s note: This devotion is intended to encourage church staff, the staff of Christian schools, and volunteers in any kind of Christian organization. In connection with the devotion, consider distributing any of the value-priced products CTA makes available as a tangible reminder of these people’s important ministries and of your thankfulness for their service.
Introduction
In 1975, the Davisson family in Seward, Nebraska built “the world’s largest time capsule.” Scheduled to be opened in 2025, it contains many interesting items, including a 1975 Chevrolet Vega and a Kawasaki motorcycle—both with zero mileage!
Time capsules make it possible for one generation to speak directly to another. Some time capsules are buried; some are placed in cornerstones of important buildings. (If your church cornerstone has a time capsule, tell who placed it there, when it will be opened and speculate briefly on the message your spiritual ancestors intended to send to you or your descendants.)
Getting to the Heart
If you could send a message into the future, what message would you send? (Allow a few moments of silence for thought.)
Today I would like to propose that each of us can send such a message, that we can touch eternity—one heart at a time. As we consider that opportunity, the apostle Peter has some advice for us, advice about touching eternity, about sending meaningful messages into the future. Listen to his words. (Read 1 Peter 3:15.)
Peter tells us how we can impact the future, how we can “touch eternity,” by sharing the message of Jesus. Perhaps you “love to tell the story … of Jesus and his love,” as the old Gospel hymn says. Or perhaps you feel a bit awkward or nervous when you think about it. Or maybe sometimes you share gladly and sometimes back away. Whichever group you most identify with, I pray you will hear something helpful today as we focus on three simple ideas for Christian witness: Prayer, Care, and Share.
Prayer
The Christians to whom Peter wrote lived in a world that considered them “aliens” (1 Peter2:11). Their apparently goofy ideas made them seem as though they had grown up on another planet! (See 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 2:6-14; 3:18-19). Nero was emperor of Rome at this time, and most of us know what that means. Persecution had already begun, and Peter himself would die a horrendous death by crucifixion a few short months after he wrote the words we just read. And yet, twice in this chapter the apostle repeats this message: No Fear! (See 1 Peter 3:6, 14). How could he say this?
Jesus Christ had taken up residence in Peter’s heart. In turn, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter had “sanctified” Christ as Lord. Jesus was “set apart” in Peter’s heart and life. The crucified and risen, compassionate, and ever glorious Savior has taken up residence in the hearts of all believers today, too—in your heart and mine.
Jesus’ presence chases away the dark shadows of fear—no matter how terrible our circumstances. Jesus’ forgiveness for every one of our sins gives us fresh joy in the present and hope for the future. As Paul writes in Romans 8, we are “hyper-conquerors” (v. 37; the literal meaning of the original Greek); we are “more than conquerors” (KJV); none of what happens to us “phases us because Jesus loves us” (MSG).
This confidence, this peace and joy, are too good to keep to ourselves! We see individuals all around us at work, at school, and perhaps even in our own families who live in hopelessness, in fear, in agitation, people whose lives are bleak and whose hearts are empty. But how can we communicate everything Jesus offers them without scaring them or insulting them?
We begin in prayer! We don’t talk directly to our friends at first. Instead, we talk to Jesus. We ask him to put someone on our hearts. We ask him to bring to us one person who will ask us about “hope that is in us.” He will do that as we prayerfully watch and listen for opportunities.
Care
Next, we care. It’s trite, but true: “People don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care.” As we hook up a new neighbor’s clothes dryer, as we offer to baby-sit for an exhausted daughter-in-law, as we listen to a co-worker distraught over a recently diagnosed illness, we “show how much we care.” We help, we listen, we speak words of compassion, “gently and with respect,” as Peter urges. We do all these things, because we truly do care, and not out of some manipulative plan to yank open a “door of witness.”
An unbeliever once asked a Christian, “If I never come to faith in your Jesus, will you still be my friend?” The answer to this question must always be yes! (See Matthew 11:19; 26:50). We go on caring, even if the door to witness remains closed.
The famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody challenged himself to share Jesus with at least one person every day. On several occasions, Moody got out of bed after 10 P.M. , got dressed, and went out into the street to find someone with whom to share the Gospel, because he remembered he had not done so that day. R.A. Torrey writes about that:
Once, when walking down a certain street in Chicago, Mr. Moody stepped up a perfect stranger and asked: “Sir, are you a Christian?” “You mind your own business,” came was the reply. Mr. Moody replied: “This is my business.” The man said, “Well, then, you must be Moody.” Out in Chicago they used to call him in those early days “Crazy Moody,” because day and night he was speaking about Jesus to anyone who would listen.
What would make someone this radical? Zeal for souls. Compassion for the lost. Passion for the honor of Christ and the spreading of his Kingdom!
Share
As we show Christ’s authentic care for others, Jesus will open the door of witness for us. Effective witnesses don’t need a seminary diploma. We simply talk about who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Yet, simplicity is not complacency! We do not approach this honor haphazardly or with carelessness.
With each passing decade, biblical illiteracy in our culture grows. More and more people come to believe things like “Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife”! In contrast, Peter encourages us to grow in our knowledge as well as in our faith. He urges us to be ready constantly to answer those who ask about our hope in Jesus. When we know what we believe and why we believe it, we can best speak up for the truth. We need not know every answer to every possible question or objection. We need not be ready to dazzle others with our intellectual stun gun.
Instead, we study God’s Word little by little, day by day, and as we do, we will grow in our knowledge and in our relationship with Christ in whom all the Scriptures center (cf., 2 Timothy 3:16). This helps us personally fall more in love with Jesus, and it makes our words of witness even more effective.
Taking It Home
Prayer. Care. Share. As we do these simple, but profoundly meaningful things, we will truly touch eternity—one heart at a time. In whose life will God use you to make an eternal difference?
You are welcome to copy this article for one-time use in your organization as long as you will receive no monetary benefit from it. Please include the copyright line printed below and submit an actual copy of use to CTA, attention Editorial Manager.
Used with permission grant #010912. © 2012 CTA, Inc. No duplication of this article is allowed without the express written consent of CTA, PO Box 1205, Fenton, MO 63026-1205. www.CTAinc.com.