I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!” In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. – Luke 15:7-10 (NASB)
Within days of starting my new job I knew Claudia was the reason I was there. I didn’t understand why until after a few months she started asking me questions. Not just questions – QUESTIONS. What do you do when your co-worker comes in Monday morning and says, “I read the book of Revelation over the weekend”? She asked tough, theological questions, and many days I would hide in my office thinking, “Please don’t let her ask me anything today!”
The amazing thing was, no matter what she asked, God gave me an answer. My mouth would open and words came out, and afterwards I thought, “Where did that come from?” I think the Lord taught me more through Claudia, than she ever learned from me.
Claudia didn’t like Jesus. Her past had left a bitter taste in her mouth, and many of her questions were an attempt to reconcile the Jesus of the Bible with the poor examples of Christians she hade known.
God has promised that if you seek Him, you will find Him, and she was certainly seeking. After several months she went with me to a revival service at my church and prayed to receive, Jesus. Satan attacked her with doubts almost immediately, and since she lived 35 miles from me and no longer worked at my office, it was difficult to encourage her. Her letters asked still more questions, but I could tell with each one that she was truly saved, and the Holy Spirit was working in her life. When she was dying from cancer, she wrote me a letter in which she gushed about her love for Jesus. They were words I never expected to hear from her, and I was humbled to see what God had done in her life.
What God taught me through Claudia was to let Him work. When I first met Claudia, I couldn’t see how this bitter woman could ever get saved. Fortunately God is greater than our simple human doubts, and in the short time I knew Claudia He taught me to get out of the way. To let Him do the talking, and let His Holy Spirit do the work.
I can’t help but think back on all the other people I have worked with over the years. I never hid the fact that I was a Christian and was active in my church. To some I gave a testimony and I pray that seeds were planted that eventually bore fruit. I think about Norma and Marilyn, Kim and Debbie and many, many more. It’s been 30-odd years since I’ve seen them. Norma and Marilyn have probably passed on by now. Did they come to know the Lord?
And what of the others? The ones I never gave a word of testimony to. They far outnumber the people I spoke to. They knew I was a Christian, but was my life an adequate representation of the Lord I served? In many cases – far more often than I would like to remember – I know that it was not. What of those people?
As much as my heart rejoices in Claudia’s salvation, it also breaks for the people I failed. What do I do about that? Paul – who hunted and jailed Christians and stood by while Stephen was martyred – wrote in Philippians 3:13 “. . . forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.”
That’s a tough thing for humans to do. We like to dwell on our failures. Or maybe I should say Satan likes to make us dwell on our failures. That way he can keep us from proclaiming Christ to the next person we meet.
The Bible says the angels rejoice in the salvation of each person. I rejoiced in the knowledge that Claudia was saved before she died. However, I can’t stop there. My heart – our hearts – should break so much for the lost people around us that we do not rest. I need to find my next Claudia. You need to find yours.
Let the Lord work. And then rejoice with the angels.