Gloves Of Conviction And Entertaining Angels

For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. --2 Corinthians 6:2 AMPC April 20, 1999 began as any other morning. People across the nation busied themselves preparing for work, for school, or whatever was scratched down on their to-do list. Commuters commuted, car poolers were car pooling, errands were run, students milled their way through the halls of schools everywhere laughing, talking, grousing about assignments, making plans for after the last bell of the day rang. Just another day. But at 11:19 a.m. the unthinkable happened as two teenage gunmen made their way through the halls of Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, leaving 12 students and one teacher dead in a wake of gunfire and bombs before turning their weapons on themselves. The first to die that morning was 17-year-old Rachel Joy Scott whose story has been chronicled in the Pure Flix original "I Am Not Ashamed." Admittedly I've watched this movie on more than one occasion and each time I marvel at the journey this young girl walked during her all too brief time on this Earth. Her struggles to maintain an intimate walk with God and yet still trying to find her place in her world, her belief in mercy and compassion coupled with a desire to touch the hearts and lives of others were showcased; raw, strong, painfully candid, and nakedly honest ("Do you ever feel like you can't see your future, like it's your last year?"). In one particular scene earlier in the movie Rachel is seen at work when a young lady, possibly late 20s/early 30s, walks in, her face dirty, hair disheveled, clothes looking like they hadn't seen a washing machine in days. In her hand is a pair of tattered and worn gloves. As she sits down at a table, Rachel's boss tells her, "If she isn't buying something, she has to leave. I don't want crazies in here!" Reluctantly she makes her way over to this young lady and quietly tells her, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." At that moment another lady sitting one table over hands Rachel some money with a smile, telling her that her "friend" would like a French Press latte and a bagel with cream cheese. As Rachel takes the money to her boss she watches as this sweet stranger sits down and begins to engage in conversation. Rachel smiles but it is obvious something is tugging at her. At the end of her shift, as she is wiping tables, she discovers the gloves were left behind. Rachel wrote about this in her journal, calling these her "gloves of conviction." She said:

             "As I was cleaning the tables and feeling bad for not talking to the woman myself, I noticed that she had left her gloves. I told God that I was sorry for disobeying him. He told me something that will always give me a boldness in these situations, something that will never make me hesitate to tell others of him:

          “You feel like she missed something because you lost your boldness, but she didn't lose her opportunity. The other woman is sharing with her right now and she will not lose out on me. You lost. You passed up the chance to gain something. You just let a wonderful flame go past you and into the hands of another. Let this be known, child, that when you do not follow through with the boldness and knowledge I have given you, more than one person is affected by it. You are as well as them.” *

Hebrews 13:2 puts it this way--"Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood—being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it." I wonder how many opportunities to share Christ have slipped through our fingers because of fear? Doubt? I wonder how many times God has wanted to use us but couldn't because. for whatever reason, we refused to follow through with that spark, that flame, that desire placed in us? I wonder how many times others missed a chance to see Christ in us because we in our arrogance deemed them to be unworthy? 

In another of Rachel's writings she went on to say this: 

         "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness

can go.

       It wasn't until recently that I learned that the first and the second and the third impressions can be deceitful of what kind of person someone is. For example, imagine you just met someone, and you speak with them three times on brief everyday conversations. They come off as a harsh, cruel, stubborn, and ignorant person. You reach your judgment based on just these three encounters.  Let me ask you something...did you ever ask them what their goal in life is, what kind of past they came from, did they experience love, did they experience hurt, did you look into their soul and not just at their appearance? Until you know them and not just their "type," you have no right to shun them. You have not looked for their beauty, their good. You have not seen the light in their eyes. Look hard enough and you will always find a light, and you can even help it grow, if you don't walk away from those three impressions first.

      I am sure that my codes of life may be very different from yours, but how do you know that trust, compassion, and beauty will not make this world a better place to be in and this life a better one to live? My codes may seem like a fantasy that can never be reached, but test them for yourself, and see the kind of effect they have in the lives of people around you. You just may start a chain reaction." *

A chain reaction? Or entertaining angels? 

What are your "gloves of conviction"?

                                                       Devotional Time 

Take a moment or two to purposely ask God to place people and/or opportunities to share Him with others in your pathway. Ask Him for boldness and conviction. Don't forget to thank Him when these opportunities arise.



*http://www.racheljoyscott.com