Trying to be ready for the next thing

Who was John Harper? I’d never heard of him until reading this anecdote about the last minutes of his life.

Harper was the newly called pastor to Moody Memorial Church in Chicago in the early 1900s, but in 1912, he was a passenger on the Titanic. Four years after that ill-fated voyage, a young Scotsman stood in a meeting and told the audience that he was a survivor. He told how he drifted in the water on a piece of wood and encountered a man who was also floating on a piece of wreckage. This man pleaded with him to trust and receive Christ as his Savior. The young Scotsman refused. When the swirling waves brought the man around again, he asked if the younger man was now saved. He was not.

Shortly after, the man disappeared into the water and the young man decided to trust Christ as Savior. At that meeting he identified the one who drowned as John Harper. He was Harper’s last convert.

This story convicts me. If I were dying, I am almost certain that my last thoughts would not be as noble or as dedicated to the saving of souls as this man. I’m still uncertain why God is speaking to me now about being more dedicated to sharing my faith, but I am listening.

Today’s Scripture is just after an incident where Jesus sent the disciples for some bread and He remained at a well to talk with a woman who came for water. She was skeptical at first, but soon realized that she was talking to the Christ, the Messiah. She ran to tell the people of her city, and as they were making their way toward Him to find out for themselves the truth of what she told them, the disciples came up with the bread and urged Him to eat.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:34-35)

His mind was not on Himself and certainly not on food. He urged the disciples to get their minds off their bellies and be ready to talk to these people who were eager to hear about Jesus.

Jesus knew the woman wanted more and was spiritually hungry. He also knew that a crowd was coming that wanted to know Him. I realize that such spiritual alertness comes from the Holy Spirit. By myself, I do not notice the spiritual condition of others, and am not quick to even think about others being eager to hear the gospel. I could say I would like to be like John Harper, but if that were true, would it happen? Would I be asked to do it? And would I be willing?

Dreaming about being a different person is far easier than doing it, and I’m not sure a change in ministry is what God has in mind for me. However, as I read through these admonitions for outreach, I cannot help but wonder what comes next. I’ve said it before; walking with Jesus is always an adventure with many challenges and surprises that keep me trusting Him and hanging on to His promises!