This morning I find myself grieving for a person I only met once. I’m mourning a missed opportunity to share the gospel. A missed opportunity to be an ambassador for Christ. A missed opportunity to be a watchman for the lost. A missed opportunity to slow down and be totally present.
I had a neighbor that didn’t come out of his house often. I wouldn’t say he was elderly but I could tell by the lack of visitors he was a loner. We live on a busy street and our houses are not close together so you have to be intentional about talking to a neighbor.
Christmas evening Paul and I walked over to his house to offer a meal and some fresh baked cookies my grandkids made. We knocked on the door and he peeked out the window, understandably reluctant to open the door. I shouted out my name and let him know we were neighbors. I said Merry Christmas holding up the cookies and introduced him to Paul.
He then smiled and said he loved cookies! Without missing a beat he explained he was waiting for a liver transplant and was pretty sick. He did spend the day with his sister but was happy to have some treats for the evening. I told him we would be happy to help in any way we could.
He thanked us and said “it’s so good to know I have nice neighbors” as he shut the door.
The funny thing is he never told us his name and sadly we didn’t give him our phone number.
How was he going to ask for help if we didn’t give him our number? Like I said, we don’t live right next door and it was obvious he would not have the strength to walk to our door.
I am filled with sorrow as I write those words.
I told myself I would come by in a few days and give him my number. I did go by one day to see if he needed anything from the store but he didn’t answer.
About 2 weeks ago we saw an ambulance and fire truck at his house. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that it wasn’t going to be good.
Yesterday Paul and I were cleaning off the snow covered drive way and I felt led to clean the front walk way. Why I don’t know as no one uses our front door and other than family we don’t have visitors.
To our surprise there was a knock on the door late in the afternoon. It was our neighbor's sister, she saw the footprints in the snow coming from our house to her brothers. She wanted to let us know he passed away. He had died in the house weeks before, the night we saw the ambulance they were there to take his body. His sister had called a friend to check on him as he wasn’t answering his phone, the friend found him.
Was he a believer? I have no idea, why? Because I didn’t ask. This unnamed man told me he was waiting for a liver and I didn’t even pray with him. I missed the opportunity to be totally present and ask more questions. I justified it by telling myself I would come back another day.
But here’s the thing, that day didn’t happen.
So today I repent for allowing my agenda to come before the heart of the Lord, I will pray for his family. I told his sister how sorry I was for her loss but I followed up by giving her my name and number and asked her to call me to help her with the house.
I can’t undue my past actions but I can learn from them and do better next time.
I don’t want to be known by Jesus as a “nice neighbor” I want to be known as a good and faithful servant.
Romans 10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
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