Every person we encounter should be viewed as an opportunity to either bring people to Christ or closer to Christ.

No matter where you go, ask God to give you the opportunity and boldness to turn the conversation to something that will matter on Judgment Day. Then expect His answer and wait for blessing (James 1:5-6). This is a wonderful way to live, because whether you get in a car wreck or marry your highschool sweetheart, every situation becomes a moment of discipleship. It's the attitude of Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:16, "Therefore, from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh." When Paul saw a doctor he did not first see a doctor but a soul in need of Christ or in need of drawing closer to Christ. When Paul saw a fisherman he didn't see an occupation but a human being made in the image of God. Rich or poor, emperor or beggar, Paul saw eternal souls wherever he went. And when you start viewing people this way, you start living the adventure of daily discipleship. God graced me to experienced this in an extraordinary way today.

The grass of our front yard was getting so long we could start raising a couple elephants, so I got out the mower, but after forty pulls on the cord, accepted that it wasn't going to start. Paul, a dear friend who attends our church, came over and helped me identify the mower's problem: a broken spark plug boot. Before Paul left I said, "Paul, I want to ask you three questions. How are you loving your wife? How are you discipling your children? And who is the last unbeliever you witnessed to?" Paul and I enjoyed ten minutes of incredible fellowship and prayer.

With my three youngest children (ages 7, 5, and 4) I took off for Lowe's and Andrew the worker tried to help find a spark plug boot. But Lowe's didn't carry what I was looking for.

Around Andrew's neck hung a crucifix. "Does that symbol hanging on your necklace mean anything to you?" I asked. Andrew shared that his Dad died when he was young and he believed in heaven and hell but that was about it. He said God would let him into heaven because he helped his disabled uncle.

"Do you know how high God's standard is for letting people into heaven?" I asked.

"How high?"

"Jesus said, 'You shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.' Andrew, if we are even a shade less than perfect, God would be unjust to let us into heaven. You've lied before, right?"

"Yea."

"And you've lusted before."

"Yes."

"Jesus said that's adultery of the heart. Have you ever taken God's name in vain?"

"No."

"You never said, 'Oh my G-O-D'?"

"Oh, yea, I've done that."

"That's the sin of blasphemy. If I used your mom's name as a curse word you'd be pretty offended. Andrew, that's what we've done with the name of God who gave us life." This led naturally into the meaning of Christ's death so plainly illustrated by his necklace. Andrew thanked me and on I went, without a spark plug boot, but with the joy of Christ who sent me to Lowe's for a far greater purpose.

I went to Meijer store looking for the same part and praying for more opportunities to share Christ. Before I could even get to the isle I was headed for, a man walked up and asked, "Do you know where a Best Buy is in town?" God wasn't waiting around to answer my prayer. I gave the man directions and then asked him a question about directions to a much more important place. We talked about Christ for five minutes. On my way out I ran into Andres and he too thought he was getting to heaven because he's a good person. He listened closely as I shared the gospel.

My last store to visit was Circuit City, and I found the part I needed for my computer until I got hoe and realized it was the wrong cable. But that's okay because God sent me Andrew, a fellow believer whom I got to encourage to share the gospel with others.

If you trust God to use you, He will. After all, what will matter more on Judgment Day? A spark plug boot or four eternal souls created in the image of God?