Don’t Let Them Go Without

There were several times when I was a kid that I came downstairs late for dinner and all the food was gone.

My dad was a man who would open his home to people. Friends, family—if someone needed a place to stay, he would help them. Sometimes there were a lot of people around, and on a few occasions nobody realized I hadn’t eaten.

I still remember the last time it happened.

I even remember what we had for dinner: Hamburger Helper. LOL.

That night I made a decision: If I can help it, nobody around me will ever go without food.

That stayed with me.

Even today, if I know someone hasn’t eaten yet, I’ll put food aside for them before everyone else gets theirs. Sometimes I probably go too far. I make more than we need because somewhere inside me is still that kid who remembers what it felt like to come downstairs and discover there was nothing left.

But this morning, the Holy Spirit put something on my heart that hit me like a ton of bricks:

What if I had that same conviction about Jesus?

I know what it’s like to live without Christ.

There were many years of my life when I didn’t truly know Him. When I first came to Christ, part of me wished I could go back and change those years. Today, I don’t. Those years are part of my testimony. They remind me what life without Him was like and just how desperately I needed Him.

So what if my conviction became:

“I know what it’s like to be without Christ, and as much as it depends on me, nobody in my presence is going to go without hearing about Him.”

We spend our lives trying to protect others from the things we once lacked.

If we grew up without money, we work hard so our family has financial security.

If we went without food, we make sure everyone gets fed.

If we lacked stability, we try to build a stable home.

Those aren’t bad things.

But there is something far greater that people around us desperately need.

Jesus.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
— Romans 1:16 CSB

If I’m willing to make sure there’s a plate of food set aside because I don’t want someone to experience the hunger I once felt, how much more should I care about someone experiencing the spiritual emptiness I once knew?

I can’t make someone accept Christ.

I can’t make someone believe.

But I can make sure they see Christ in me. I can tell them what He has done in my life. I can share the Gospel. I can love them. I can plant the seed.

I know what it’s like to live without Jesus.

And because I do, I don’t want the people God places around me to go without hearing about Him.

Something to think about today:

What did you once live without that changed the way you live today?

And more importantly:

Do you have that same urgency about making sure the people around you know Jesus?

Rev. Carlos Figueroa
TheFreeBible.org