by Steve Higginbotham
I know that I have shared this story before, but I think it can provide the motivation we need to be more evangelistic in the upcoming year.
The small town of Chester is the northernmost city in the state of West Virginia. Just across the Ohio River is the city of East Liverpool, Ohio. It was there that I was once coming back home from a trip to Hills Department store with my dad. While we were stopped at a traffic light, in front of some houses that were dilapidated, I noticed several children running around barefoot and barely clothed. I remember watching them as we waited for the light to turn green, and I felt sorry for them. It was obvious they were poor, living in houses that were in a state of disrepair, and playing right next to the main street with no parental supervision in sight.
As the light turned green, I told my dad that I felt sorry for those kids because of their living conditions. That’s when my dad said something to me that I have never forgotten. Dad said, “Yes, it is sad, but unless someone teaches them about Jesus, this is the best it will ever get for them.”
I could not shake those words when I was a child, and I have not been able to shake them as an adult. People often ask me when I decided to become a preacher, and if my mom and dad ever “pushed” me in this direction. Well, I don’t ever remember having a single conversation with either of my parents in which they “pushed” me to become a preacher. But my decision was not all my own. My parents influenced me to become a preacher by daily conversations like the one I recounted above.
I’m convinced that one of the reasons I am preaching today is because of those little children playing along the side of the road in East Liverpool, Ohio. While the houses have long since been demolished, and the road rerouted, whenever I pass that spot, I relive that conversation with my dad.
Someone once said that for those who are Christians, Earth will be the closest they will ever get to Hell; and for those who are not Christians, Earth will be the closest they will ever get to Heaven. I find that truth to be profound. It is both full of hope and sadness.
That thought lights a fire under me to be more zealous in sharing the gospel, and I hope it will do the same for you.