Of course narcissistically I title this entry "have we lost our roar....", when in fact this is a confession of my own lack of courage. Yesterday while Ben (my office mate) and I were walking from our psychotherapy class back to our office, he was stopped by a fellow student and asked to fill out a blue survey. Ben reluctantly agreed to fill out the survey. I continued walking with a greater sense of urgency to avoid sharing his fate. I was in our office only a minute when he walked in. He informed me that the survey was for Campus Crusade, knowing I occasionally attend the event. He then proceeded to tell me the type of questions on the survey. Interestingly he started first with the declaration that he was "already set in faith" and then continued, "it asked me if spirituality was important to me, and if I wanted to know about Jesus more". He caught my interest, and I asked his response to the question. His abrupt reply of "No" caused me to miss the rest of the sentence. I was silent for a moment, and then asked him what he believed. He responded, "About what?" I clarified that I was interested in what his religious beliefs were. He stated, hesitantly at first, that he "Believed in Jesus Christ came and died on a cross. Again my surprise of his answer caused the remainder of his words to fall on deaf ears. I was perplexed on this acknowledgement Jesus. I responded by nodding my head in silence, but the voice inside me was anything but silent. It knew exactly what to say. In that moment was a chance to bring to light the apparent contradiction of Ben's beliefs. If he truly believed that Jesus came to earth and died for him (I knew from previous conversation that he was aware Jesus’ claimed deity), than it would only make sense that one would want to know Jesus and reciprocate this action through serving Him. I knew such a question would challenge Ben, perhaps cause him to be uncomfortable. I remained silent; Ben's conflicting statements remained hidden; his paradigm escaped unaffected. Ben probably would have preferred that at the present, yet I was convicted, for I knew I had missed my chance to speak truth into Ben’s life. Pondering this defeat has reminded me that if I am to impact lives as and when Christ calls me to, I need to show courage. I need to be able to challenge people even if it makes things uncomfortable. Considering that people often surround themselves with those who have perceptions like their own, it's possible such opportunities, when taken, can echo in eternity. I only can hope the Holy Spirit gives me another opportunity.
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