Just Add Jesus
He Makes All Things New.
Some years ago, I worked at a call center for AT&T, one of the world’s largest companies. AT&T has millions upon millions of happy customers. I never got to talk to them, because they have no reason to call. I talked to the angry ones, and you know who they are because you’ve been that person.
You’re calling because $4,000 worth of calls to Mongolia showed up on your bill. Or you’re calling because a technician just showed up at your house to install internet that you didn’t order because you’ve never owned a computer. Maybe you’re calling because a month ago an AT&T truck dropped a 15-ton spool of fiber optic cable on your hydrangeas before disappearing without a trace.
You are furious with AT&T and planning to flog the poor sap that picks up that line. I was that poor sap.
Nathan vs. the volcano.
A woman in just such a state called burning with volcanic anger. The previous month, she had talked to an AT&T representative that sold her a new phone package with the promise that it would lower her monthly charges. Her bill normally ran about $45 bucks a month. Her first bill on the new plan came in at just a little over $90. She was nearly hysterical with rage.
I looked at her new plan and quickly realized that there was no conceivable way that her bill would ever be less than $15 more expensive than her old plan. She had been sold a bill of goods and that was that. I told her that I would issue a credit and put her old plan back on her account.
It didn’t satisfy her anger. She repeatedly asked me why the other representative had lied to her because she just felt so angry and betrayed. “WHY WOULD SHE LIE TO ME?” she exclaimed!!!!
“Because she needs Jesus,” popped out of my mouth.
Silence.
An explosion of laughter came through the line. “OH HONEY . . . DON’T WE ALL!!!!!” followed by about a minute of loud guffawing. She continued chuckling intermittently for the rest of the call, and as we closed up the call, she thanked me for blessing her socks off.
What do we really need?
I’ve told this story to a lot of people because it strikes at the heart of what sharing the Gospel is all about. We all need Jesus. Everybody. If we don’t have Jesus, like me back in the day, we really need Jesus. If we already have Jesus, like me now, we need MORE Jesus. We need Him more than anything else that could possibly ever be needed. We need Him when we wake up in the morning, and we need Him when we lie down to sleep.
He is the Love, Peace, Joy, and fullness of life that we were created to need. Sharing Jesus with people is an attempt to meet their most basic, intrinsic need. It’s the most loving thing that we could possibly do because He’s the only one who can meet that core human need.
Be Bold!
When I shared this story with others, most were shocked that I would say something like that at work. “Aren’t you afraid that you’d get fired?” I had two friends disinvite me from their weddings because I tried to share Jesus with them. Losing my job because of Jesus would be way less traumatic than that.
Besides, if I got fired for talking about Jesus, Jesus would totally have my back. He said, “Blessed are those who are reviled and persecuted because of Me. Rejoice and be glad on that day. Great will be your reward in Heaven.” If I’m not taking the risk of talking about Jesus in a setting where I might get persecuted, I’m cheating myself. I’m missing out on this tremendous promise of blessing that Our Lord has given me.
So if you’re in a situation where you kinda feel like you could add Jesus but you don’t know what the end result might be, just add Jesus. If they accept Jesus, you’ve just helped to meet their most core human need. You’ve loved them in the best possible way. If they spit on you and punch you in the face, think of it as a high five from Jesus. He’s going to pour out His blessing on you because you’ve taken a risk to share His love with someone who needs it.
When they reject you, they’re really rejecting Him, which puts you in the best possible company. Even then, it’s another opportunity to just add Jesus. If someone punches you in the face because of Jesus, you can pray for them, because they REALLY need Jesus. Either way, we win because we get more Jesus in our lives, which is what everyone need.
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Jesus snatched me out of the darkness and saved me from complete madness. If you want to hear more of that story, check out Demoniac, now available on Amazon.
Beautiful!
Great story, Nathan. Love it!