The Open Door

There is nothing quite like a sudden scream from the wife to get your attention. That happened in our house this week. A mouse dared to show itself and my wife screamed. Naturally, I went to investigate. And to see if I could get her down off the ceiling fan.

It was a cute little baby mouse. Aww. So I tried to catch it with my hands. Those little guys sure are elusive - hopping and jumping and running along the baseboards. We tried to get him outside by opening the door but he wasn't interested in the 36" wide opening. More running and jumping ensued.

The little guy avoided all of our attempts and eventually disappeared into the house somewhere. My wife then began thinking about her anticipated inability to sleep with a live mouse in the house. Sadly, it was time to bring in the heavy equipment - a mouse trap. Within an hour we heard a 'snap' and sadly the little mouse was dead.

It's kind of hurts when we have the knowledge and the ability to help others but are then ignored by the very ones who need the help. They're too distracted, or prideful it seems.

Welcome to the world of a Christian, someone who has been charged by God to share the Gospel.

"And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim The Gospel to the whole creation." - Mark 16:15

And most of the time the people who need to hear it are not interested. So what do we do?

First, change your name to Jeremiah. Lol! Just kidding. Jeremiah, of course, was "the weeping prophet." No one listened to him either.

But read that command from Jesus again. It says to "proclaim" The Gospel, not to win people over or to change their minds. That's not our job. That's the Holy Spirit's job.

"Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor." - 1 Corinthians 3:7-8

Perhaps the next time my wife sees a mouse in the house I will speak the Good News about Jesus to it. Then it can believe, receive, and walk right out the door and be saved.