God Harvests

When a realtor has a buyer that finds a home, they do a home inspection. It’s a very detailed look into all the workings of the home and structure; the realtor is obligated to attend the 3-4 hour inspection and often the buyer is there as well. My buyers were on vacation. I have worked with this man several times. What I know of this man, he is a good family man, and he loves Jesus. He is also a Catholic. Since we are both there for the duration, we often chit chat so I knew that much. Today, though, during the conversation, I asked him a question about Catholicism. Honestly, I don’t remember what. But his answer had to do with “doing good works”. What he told me in no uncertain terms is that he believes that doing good will get him to heaven. I wanted to scream, “But if that’s all it takes, Jesus died for nothing!”. I mean, if we could get into heaven by being kind and doing things for other people, that whole concept leaves Jesus out. He asked, “well what do Lutherans believe?” I replied, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that who so ever believes in Him, shall have everlasting life”. His reply was a mumbled, “yeah, but you have to do good works”. I then replied, “yes, we believe that when you are saved, you will want to do good works”. He talked to me about indulgences and how at certain times of year you could, through ritual pay an indulgence to retrieve a loved one from purgatory and make sure they go to heaven. At that point, I felt he was a little tense, and I totally changed the subject.

I have talked before about our need to reach out to people and be sure that they know who Jesus is. Some conversations may go great, some may be cut short because they do not want to hear what you have to say, and others like this one, will probably not change a persons’ mind. He is a devout catholic and I am not the person, especially in a working environment to try to change his mind, and I know I could not. However, seeds were planted, God always does the harvesting.

Lord, help us to keep learning about you, who you truly are. I have loved you for years and have barely scratched the surface of the depth of who you are. One day, I will look into your face and know all I ever need to know. Amen.

Shirlene Peterson