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John discovers the joy of witnessing
By John Williams
Wahiawa SDA Church
Oahu, Hawaii
Two years ago I was walking across a 5-acre public park near my condo in central Oahu. Since my unit has only one assigned parking stall, I had to park on the street. This particular Sabbath afternoon, still dressed in suit and tie, I cut across the park in order to use the sidewalk.
As I cut across the park, I encountered a small group of rough-looking characters hanging out. When they saw me, they scattered like sheep. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I kept my hands in my pockets and silently prayed for deliverance. But the leader of the gang, we'll call him Dave, stood fast, and as I came within 5 feet of him, he called out to me and asked if I was a security guard.
The good condo complexes on Oahu all have security guards and sometimes they wear trendy clothes like suits while on patrol. Surprised by the question, I responded that I wasn't a security guard, but that I was returning home after being in church all day. Dave, equally surprised by my response, said, "Church?!" he scratched his head and added emphatically, "but today is Saturday!"
I responded by telling him about the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath and how I had found perfect peace in Christ Jesus on His holy Sabbath day.
That's when Dave started firing off a lot of spiritual questions. He felt that the Bible was a boring book (I once thought so too) and wondered what people saw in a relationship with Jesus Christ that kept them coming back week after week. We spent over 2 hours together going over different scriptures while attempting to answer Dave's many questions. Afterwards, we exchanged phone numbers. Dave called me several more times in the following weeks.
Afterwards, I didn't see or hear from Dave for nearly two years. However, last July (2008), I stopped in at a local grocery store to purchase some fresh fruit after a long hard day at work. As I was examining the produce, someone tapped me on my shoulder. When I turned around to see who was calling my attention I was once again face to face with Dave, the young man I had witnessed to in 2006. Only now, he was cleaned up, dressed in a clean work outfit and had a huge smile on his face.
Dave then began to thank me profusely for witnessing to him two years earlier. He said the way I answered his questions showed him that one could develop a relationship with Jesus Christ, and that he had joined in with a local church where he resides and his life was never better.
When I walked out of the store, I was miles above "cloud nine"! I thanked the Lord God that he had used me, a broken, worthless vessel to communicate His message of salvation.. What a tremendous feeling of worth and blessing filled my heart!
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