A Policeman Set Free

     God did a great thing for me on a recent Thursday evening. My wife, Pris, had flown to Spokane to help our daughter make wedding plans and do some shopping with her for the event. I was doing some repairs on my Mom's rental to help close her estate. I worked quite late and then drove home at 10 p.m. I thought about getting something from my work office, so I turned into the Avant Ministries parking lot. A car was sitting in the driveway. I thought it was another worker sending a text, so I stopped to visit a moment.
     Well, it turned out that the car was a police car. The police­man rolled down the window, and we started chatting. He be­gan to share about his life, and I listened, asked a few questions, and shared some comments. I silently prayed for opportunities to move into a spiritual conversation. I complimented him for his desire to help his kids and others. He then said that now that the kids were old enough, he had lost his purpose for living and was totally confused and discouraged. He said he believed in a God, but did not have any idea of how to connect with him. So I asked if! Could share how he could find God and meaning for life. He said Yes." I shared the "Gospel hand" with him:

• Thumb = God is all powerful and loving.
• Pointer finger = points to us to say we have all sinned.
• Middle finger (tall man) = Jesus Christ stood tall and, as God, came in a human form so that God could die on the cross to pay for our sin.
• Ring finger= (Two R’s) Repent and receive -we need to recognize that we are sinners and desire to turn (repent) from that and receive God's provision for sin.

     I asked if he would desire that gift of eternal life through Christ, and he said "Yes." I told him that he could talk to God at anytime, anywhere, but then I asked him if he would like to talk to God right then. He said "Yes." By this time, we were both out of our vehicles, and I put my hand on him, and he prayed the most heart-felt prayer of confession and trust in Christ. It was precious.
     Then he asked me a question. Can you guess what that was? It was, "You mentioned four fingers. What does the fifth one mean?" What a perfect question! I said the little finger is small and needs to grow. It represents that as a believer we can grow in our faith by reading the Word, surrounding ourselves with other people who love God, find a great Bible church, and begin to share the gospel with those around him, at work and with his kids.
     In the end, as we parted, he said, "Now I have a purpose for liv­ing, and you may not believe this, but you probably saved my life!"
     My new brother drove away to respond to a police call, and I sat there, praising God and wondering what it was that I had wanted from my work office.
     God still works today to guide us. I'm convinced of that. I will let God be God and humbly serve him every day. How God chooses to work is his doing. Usually God uses ordinary people to take his love and grace to others. If a person is confused but really wants to know the truth, God can push someone to bring truth to that person. That push will not save, but can create an opportuni­ty for the saving message of Christ to be grasped.
     We are commanded to live a life that will demonstrate our faith in Christ. We are encouraged to build relationships with people around us. That personal connection with another will add credit to our message, but it will never save a person. We must actually tell people God's message of salvation so they can believe and be saved.