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by David
Phelps
"Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person." - Mother Teresa
April, 1996
About a month and a half ago, my wife, Charlotte, showed me the latest edition of the Bi-District United Methodist Review. There, on the front page, was one of my "Person-2-Person" columns. I was pleased, of course, but also amazed by how far my simple message had gone. Whenever we tell Christ's message, we never know what the result will be or how it will spread.Several years ago, there was a shampoo commercial on television that featured a young actress saying, "I liked it so much, I told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on." As the commercial progressed, the screen divided over and over, first into two frames, then into four, and nine, and sixteen, "and so on," with the same actress in each one. In the same way, when we tell people about Christ, the message can spread beyond our expectations.
On a Sunday evening in 1970, a young man named Richard asked me if I was "saved." I told him "No." He then asked me if I wanted to be. I didn't answer. Afterward, though, I decided the answer was "Yes." I asked God to forgive my sin and send Christ into my life. If Richard hadn't asked me the question, you might not be reading these words. When we share the message of Christ, there is no limit to the lives that can be changed.
"so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isa. 55:11 RSV.)