Just Give Me Jesus

Yesterday I interviewed one of our neighbors who came in to our Center for help with clothing. She was with her two children, along with a friend who wore a T-shirt that said something about the love of Christ.

When I asked her about all those that were in her household, she said rather sheepishly, "Well, my fiance lives with me." Then her friend joked about living in sin. Their body language indicated that they felt this was wrong. What do I say to someone who is really living in sin like this?

Unfortunately, a lot of our neighbors list the adult friends living with them as "common-law" spouses or a fiance that they hope to marry soon. I don't want to moralize with them -- moralizing is much different that sharing the good news of Christ with someone. Morals and laws don't change a human heart -- only Jesus Christ does. And yet I feel that it's wrong if I just treat this issue lightly. So here's what I often say, and what I said to the woman yesterday:

"God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and we've been married 25 years. Here's what we've found -- when we follow the Lord's plan in being married, He blesses that obedience. Now, we have problems and struggles. And yet I want to testify to you that His way is always the right way. And we honor Him when we do His will -- and He in turn blesses us for that obedience."

Responding this way is hopefully not preachy or telling them what to do. That's not my business. What I'm doing is following what I learned from a Christian 12 steps program -- we share our hope, strength and experience. People cannot argue with that, they cannot deny our experience or testimony. Hopefully, they'll be motivated to seek God and His will for themselves.

This incident made me think of a story that Stanley Shipp once told me. He was in a restaurant in St. Louis late one night having a Bible study with a friend. In the booth behind him was a man arguing with his girlfriend, trying to convince her to keep living with him. She was starting to come to faith in Christ and felt convicted that it was wrong to live together. Finally, the man got up in a rage, walked over to Stanley and asked him to help convince his girlfriend to move back in with him. Then he asked, "What does the Bible say about that?" Stanley looked at him and gave him this wise response:

"I'm not going to tell you what the Bible says about that until you know who Jesus is?"

That conversation began a relationship that ended up in the conversion of this man and his wife. They now have three children and are serving the Lord together in St. Louis. We met in a Bible school 25 years ago and he is one of the most Christ-like men I know.

I don't want to give people morals and laws. I just want to give them Jesus. Like the Fernando Ortega song says, "You can have all this world. Give me Jesus"

Jim