“Umm. I’m at Disneyland, so BYE!”
I heard a frustrated and snobbish voice say these words to me over the phone. All I could do was laugh and shake my head as I hung up. Presently I work from home calling our company’s current customers and offering them a free gift for using us. It’s free. And yet as can be expected, I will get the occasional Mrs. Disneyland answering the phone. I remember wishing I could say, “I mean…You’re at the ‘happiest place on earth’, ma’am… and you STILL can’t be nice?” Then I remembered the hot weather and pressing crowds and decided I would probably be grumpy, too.
When this irritated lady was short with me, did I stop calling people after that? Of course not. I wanted my reward – aka my paycheck. With this job, I only get paid when customers say “yes” and take the free gift. I could have just stopped right there and sulked. I could have let my feelings get hurt. I could have retreated and never called another customer again in my entire life. And yet, when I received my next paycheck, I was so excited that I had pressed on. You see, for every rude person that rejects my offering of a free gift, I will get several others who are grateful and excited and willing to accept the gift. Pressing on means finding those willing to receive it.
My job has made me view sharing the gospel in a different light. Witnessing to the lost can be very intimidating. What if they reject me? What if they are rude to me? What if they hurt my feelings? What if they ask me questions I don’t know how to answer?
Let me help you out for a minute.
Some of the lost will absolutely reject your message. Keep on going – there are others who will glady receive it. Perhaps those rejectors will also come around.
Some of the lost will absolutely be rude to you. Keep on going – there are others who will be receptive and kind.
Some of the lost will absolutely hurt your feelings. Keep on going – some will be waiting to learn of a Savior and their excitement will lift your spirit.
Some of the lost will ask you questions that make your head spin, and you will stumble for the right words to say. Do your best to be ready (I Peter 3:15) and trust me, the more you witness, the more the answers will come easily to mind.
Bottomline, when your message is rejected, you can’t just sit around feeling sorry for yourself. There are people out there who need the gift of salvation, and you are looking for those “yeses”. No doubt, the rejections will come. God can handle their hearts. You’ve done your job by sharing the gospel with them. But there are others that you will get to personally lead to the Lord. When they say “yes” to repentance and faith in Jesus, you will get to experience the fruit of your labor.
Remember in Acts 2:41 it says, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls”. Emphasis on “gladly received”. This means there were those who did not gladly receive the gospel. But an astounding 3,000 souls did! Aren’t you thankful that the apostles did not quit spreading the Good News?
Think of what “yeses” you might be missing if you quit sharing the gospel altogether. There will be rejections, but perhaps there will also be “yeses”. The more people you share the gospel with, the higher chance you’ll have at getting that glorious “yes”. So move on from and pray for the ‘Ms. Disneylands’ of this world. Then keep hunting for that soul that is ready to gladly receive God’s free gift of salvation.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Matthew 28:19
“He that winneth souls is wise….” Proverbs 11:30
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” I Peter 3:15
(WRITTEN WHEN I HAD AN AT-HOME CALLING JOB – SO MANY LESSONS LEARNED! 🙂 )
Just a Mom’s View 