A Humbling Request Indeed

They were killing a pig in front of their home the first time I gave them a scripture calendar. That was 25 years ago.  Franco is 92 years old and lives with his wife in a very plain farm house near Treviso. At first they were rather distant, and would only receive the calendar at the door. Slowly, I won their confidence and after several years they began to invite me in their home.

Their austere kitchen/dining room with a large wooden table, woven straw chairs, an unpainted concrete floor, depict quite well the somber lifestyle of old folks who worked hard all their life.

Every December I bring a calendar and visit with them. Each time they ask questions about my beliefs. I share that salvation is in Christ alone, by faith alone, based on the Bible alone. Recently I shared that our sin makes us enemies of God and we need to be reconciled to Him.

His wife replied: “Why do we need to be reconciled? We are old and we have prayed so much through the years. “I answered: “It doesn’t matter if a man is 92 or 29 years old, he needs to be reconciled and make peace with God.”

 I read from Romans chapter 5, “God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us; while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” It was evident that the Lord was speaking to their hearts and I invited them to reflect on God’s Word. I explained that when we trust Christ and Him alone, we are no longer enemies of God, but become His children.

Before leaving I asked if I could pray, we stood up and I prayed that they would receive God’s gift of reconciliation. I headed for the door, when Franco stopped me; cane in hand he walked around the table, and made a request that truly humbled me: “Please bless me!” I felt so inadequate. He said once again: “Please bless me!” Then God’s words to Abraham came to me: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” I placed my hands on his shoulders and invoked God’s blessing upon him and his wife. What great joy! We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.

• Pray for Franco and his wife, that the Lord would continue to work in their heart, that they might come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

• Pray for the many individuals who will be receiving a new Scripture Calendar this December, pray that God will use this as a tool to help them see their need for Him.