Please read this prayerfully. This article is not designed to condemn you but to challenge you… even as I challenge myself.
Living here in Europe is much different than living in rural West Tennessee… in a lot of ways. Here I do a lot of walking and riding public transportation while back home I usually drove most everywhere. Anyway, as I walk and take the trams and buses, I try to make myself scan the faces of the people who I pass by or maybe those who sit near me in the trams, etc. Quite often I see the signs of stress, confusion, sadness or just an expression that I can only call emptiness. Why do you think that is? Maybe they are simply having a bad day… who knows? Maybe they are finally facing the question of mortality and what will happen to them when they die. That indeed is a sobering thought to ponder.
How often does the Spirit of God tweak your soul to slow down a little and engage one of those empty faces? To tell them that there is a steadfast hope in the Lord Jesus? To let them know that they can have a real and lasting peace of mind that is not able to be explained in human terms? I can say that I experience that and I do not always obey that inner leading to simply talk to those empty faces. Let the reality sink in that each of those faces is a soul who will some day stand before God as their Judge. He will have one important question for them… “Did you accept My Son, Jesus, as your Savior and Lord?” If their answer is… “No one ever told me about Jesus and having a saving relationship with Him.” How sad can that be? Heart breaking, especially if maybe on that random day when you saw that empty face, you remained silent and they were searching for the answer to a change in their life… to fill that void. God help us to all open our mouths and speak to the faces… faces who are searching for the peace that passes all understanding… amen.
