(Part X of a Series, What Would It Look Like)

by W. Lee Warren, MD Today, you will no doubt encounter a number of people in the course of whatever you do. Some of those people will probably be strangers to you, or people you do not know well. In the course of such meetings, it is typical to introduce yourself. My typical introductions involve shaking someone’s hand, and telling them my name. The usual reply is their name, and frequently some interchange follows about what type of work we do, and where we are from.

If it is a business encounter, we usually include some type of information to give credibility to what we’re trying to do. If I am seeing a new patient who is contemplating surgery, I typically end up explaining why I am qualified to perform the operation. The gist of all of this is to reveal to the other person something about who you are. My question to you is this: what percentage of the people you meet hear about the Lord from you? Now I’m not talking about preaching a sermon or passing out a handful of tracts to each person you encounter.

I recently saw a patient who was wearing “I Love Jesus” suspenders, a “Jesus Saves” T-Shirt, and a “Jesus Loves Me” baseball cap. Not that there’s anything wrong with advertising that you love the Lord, but I would suggest that a lot of people would be less likely to receive an introduction to Him from you if you’re shouting it with your clothing. It is a fact that you will meet someone today or soon who does not know the Lord. And it is possible that you might be the only person they ever meet who knows the saving message of Jesus.

What if you were the one that God placed there that day to just say His name, just open a door? Jesus plainly tells the disciples in Matthew 10 that He expects us to speak up: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33, NIV) Here’s the secret- if you have your heart and mind full of Him, you’ll have a hard time keeping yourself from letting people know it. It starts by remembering all the things He’s done- “…his wonderful deeds for men.” Jesus said it like this about what types of things men say: “out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45, NIV)

Today, try to acknowledge Him in some way to everyone you meet. You never know how a simple introduction can affect the course of someone’s life. Spend some time in the Word, spend some time in prayer, and keep Him in your heart so that you can’t keep from telling people about Him. If everyone whose lives have been changed by Christ’s great love would acknowledge Him openly to everyone they met, what would it look like?