My family and I have been attending Vacation Bible School at Mt. Pleasant Church of Christ this week. Tonight’s guest speaker for the adult class was Shelton Peeler, minister at Scottsville Church of Christ. He had numerous good and thought-provoking points in his lesson this evening, and one of them I found particularly moving. He opened a songbook and read to us the lyrics of “You Never Mentioned Him to Me”. The first verse and chorus are below.
When in the better land before the bar we stand,
How deeply grieved our souls will be;
If any lost one there should cry in deep despair,
“You never mentioned Him to me.”CHORUS
You never mentioned Him to me,
You helped me not the way to see;
You met me day by day and knew I was astray,
Yet never mentioned Him to me.”
The point was this (refer to Matthew 25:31-46). Imagine yourself at the day of judgment on the right side of God prepared to enter into His presence for eternity. Across on His left side, you see someone you knew in this life, a friend, a loved one, someone you knew day in and day out. Imagine the horror if that person had the ability to say to you, “you never mentioned Jesus to me!”
Now, we don’t know what we will be able to do or say on judgment day; this may not even be a possible scenario. However, I feel it well illustrates the point. Are there people you interact with day-to-day to whom you haven’t mentioned Jesus? Can those around you see Jesus in your actions? Do you talk about the meaning of Christ in your life? Do you invite those around you to come and study with you and your church and learn more of His will? What a tremendous opportunity we have every day to encourage others to seek Christ; how sad it is every chance we take for granted.
I found this portion of the lesson very poignant. I teach an adult Bible class every Sunday morning to all who will come. I preach from time to time as our church has need. I think these are good things, and I speak from the heart to my friends and family at church; however, what about all those dear to me who are not there on Sundays? I’ve known I should be doing more, but tonight’s lesson really helped drive that home.
I also know some friends and family read my blog from time to time. This is one more chance for me to say, “Let me tell you about my God.” I welcome the opportunity to speak more of Christ, answer questions, and do what I can to help you know of His love for every one of us. Romans 3:23 illustrates the need each of us has for our Savior. In 2 Peter 3:9, we see God is willing to forgive every single person who will come to repentance. There is no one who cannot find Christ through learning and obeying His holy Word.
