Earlier today I went to Wal-Mart for some last-minute Christmas shopping. It was crowded. As I was pushing my shopping cart, I began to look at people with this thought in mind: "do you know Christ, or are you lost?" For most of my life this examination of people has been a common practice. I found my heart heavy--a sense of grief, of deep sorrow.
The fact is that most people have embraced the way of the world--the prevailing belief that God either does not exist or He is absent and impersonal. Strike up a conversation with a person about Jesus, and often you will be dismissed. But that does not mean we stop sharing our faith with others. The opportunities do present themselves. God does arrange divine appointments with His truth. As believers in Christ, we need to be aware of our responsibility to explain the truth of Christ.
But through it all prayer is always appropriate. My compassion for the lost leads me to prayer--prayer that God would use me to share the Good News, prayer that God would use others, prayer that people would be open to the truth of Christ. My prayer also includes the plea that I would never loose compassion for people--to love people without condition--and that I would live a life that demonstrates God's presence in me. So this Christmas, and beyond, let us commit our lives to fulfill Christ mandate to "preach the Good News to all people."