Decisions for Eternity - Soul Choice Ministries

In Mark 16, Jesus told us as Christians to share the way of salvation with others. It was not a suggestion but a command. All of us have a sphere of influence in our lives. Each day, we should be making ourselves available to God and looking for opportunities to share His Word.

Most of our witness is through our life example. Do we show up on time for work? Do we keep our word? Do we show forgiveness to those who have offended us? Do we show love to those who are ugly to us? These are important ways we witness our faith to people. But we also must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to do whatever He instructs us to do.

For instance, I used to serve on a homeowners association board where I lived. There was an older, grumpy gentleman on the board as well. No one really liked him, but I got along with him fine. He was a very smart man. He knew the rules and regulations, so I valued him. I would always esteem him highly during the five years that we served together.

One day, I found out he was in the hospital. That day, I felt urgency in my heart to go and visit him. When I got to the hospital, the doctor was walking out of his room. He said, “He almost died last night. He’s not going to make it another night. He’s really on his last breath.” When I entered the room to see him, he was hooked up to tubes and he looked really awful. He knew he was going to die that night.

I had never witnessed to him during all the years I knew him. He was an atheist. I started to talk to him and I said, “Bill, you know you’re not going to make it through the night. I’ve appreciated your wisdom and knowledge all these years, but there is an area of information that you’re not really familiar with, and that’s the Bible. I do know something about it. Would you be interested in hearing about where you’re going after you die?”

He said, “Yes. I almost died last night. I was so scared. There was just darkness all around me, but I was pulled back into my body.” He said, “I was scared. What do I do to be saved?”

I shared with him for two hours about the way of salvation. I explained it thoroughly and at the end, he had tears coming down his face. He said, “I want to accept this Jesus that you’re telling me about.” Now, he was a tough old guy. He was not interested in hearing about God all his life, but now that he was on his deathbed, he was interested. And he was willing to receive it from me, because I showed kindness to him throughout those five years. He received the Lord into his heart, and he was so happy he did.

I left the hospital and I found out that two hours later, he died. What if I hadn’t gone to see him? I was so glad I obeyed the Holy Spirit. I was sensitive to hear the voice of God. We all need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the same way.

On another occasion, my wife and I were at a church speaking, and a woman came up to us at the end of the service. She said, “Bill, I read your book a couple weeks ago, and I committed my heart to Jesus. I got saved.”

She went on to say, “I was so excited that I needed to witness to someone. I read in your book where the Bible instructs us to witness to others, so I decided the very next day to go to my neighbor and share the gospel with her. I did, and she accepted the Lord. She became a Christian that day. Well, the very next day, she was in a car accident and died.” She told us, “I’m so glad I went. I was so sad that she died, but I was so happy that I obeyed God and shared the Gospel with her.”

May we all have that kind of zeal to share our faith with others just as this woman did. It could mean saving someone’s life for all eternity.