Point them to the Cross

Wow! It has been about two and half months since I last wrote a post. In the meantime, I have been on four different continents, so please excuse my delay. From May 15 through June 23, I was in Beirut, Lebanon (flying through Germany), and from July 11 through July 25, I was in Empanganee, South Africa. If you are trying to figure out how that totals to four, make sure to factor in North America as well.

A lot of things have happened this summer. God has shown me a lot, and I have had some incredible conversations with people. As time goes on, I will try to post some of these stories on here to share them with you, but I will avoid posting them all at once.

So for story number one, let me start in South Africa...




South Africa lies in the southern hemisphere. Because the earth is tilted, the southern hemisphere has a different set of constellations than the northern hemisphere. One of the most famous constellations in the southern hemisphere, and the one that I was most excited to see, was the Southern Cross.

One night, my dad, my brother Scott, and I were standing outside and my dad and I spotted the Southern Cross. Immediately Scott wanted to know where it was located and we tried pointing it out to him, but he stood there several minutes without ever being able to see it. Even though it was so clear to us, and even though we were telling him the exact location of it, he just could not see it. (To his credit, he did finally find it later on that evening).

That night my dad led us in a devotional and Acts 26:12-18 was our passage. Verses 12-15 were the focus, as it was supposed to lead us in discussing our "Damascus road experience", but verses 16-18 are what grabbed my attention:

"But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."

First off, what a great commission this is from God! But the thing about that passage that caught my attention the most was the command to 'open their eyes'. Nowhere in there does it command us to win people to Christ, or to perform some supernatural conversion experience, as if it all depended on us. All that God commands us to do is to open their eyes, and from that God can bring about the forgiveness, and the inheritance, and the sanctification that follows in that passage.

Immediately I thought about how Scott could not see the Southern Cross, even with us clearly explaining it to him. Really there was nothing more that we could have said or done to help him see it. All that we could do was to point the way and hope that his eyes would be open to seeing it.

But isn't it the same when we are talking to people about Christ? To us who have seen "the Cross", it is so clear to us. But when we tell others about Him, their eyes are blinded and no matter how well we word things or how hard we try to get them to see Him, they just cannot see Him.

I cannot tell you many times I have had conversations with people, whether it be this summer in South Africa or Lebanon, or whether it be at Marshall University, or whether it just be in the community, where I have laid out the Gospel so clearly, but the individual just could not see the Cross. They could not see their need for a Savior.

I long so hard for these people to understand Christ the way that I do, and to see Him the way that I see Him. I recognize, as 2 Corinthians 4 states, that the god of this world (Satan) has blinded those that do not believe, so that they 'cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ.' And knowing that I have no sovereign control to make these individuals see Christ for who He really is, all that I can do is to keep praying for them and to keep pointing towards the cross.

To those who know people who do not yet know Christ, I want to echo God's words to you: Get up and stand on your feet. Go to those people and open their eyes. Keep pointing the way towards the cross and keep interceding for them in prayer, begging for God to have mercy on them and grant them salvation.

To those who are reading this and have no clue what I am talking about, or maybe you do know what I am talking about but you know that you do not have a relationship with Christ, I want to speak to you as well: Satan has blinded your eyes. He is keeping you from seeing Christ for who He really is. He really is there and He is holding out His hand, desiring a relationship with you. Do not give up hope! Keep looking. Keep asking questions. Keep seeking, for the Bible says that those who seek Him with all their heart will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).



I praise God for the blessings He has poured out on me, especially this summer. Not many people are given the opportunities that I have been given, and I am so thankful for those who have helped give me these opportunities. Luke 12:48 says that "to whom much is given, much is expected", and so for that reason, I will continue to proclaim Christ wherever I go. I pray that eyes would be open and that people would see the hope that exists in Christ alone. In Christ, you can be forgiven of your sins, you can experience true life, and you can have a sure hope of salvation. Oh, if only everyone could experience this freedom!