I had the privilege of hearing Dr Gordon Fort preach this past Sunday at my church. Dr. Fort was born to missionaries in Zimbabwe, and shared a message on a Sunday that focused on world missions. What a great service! Beautiful music from our choir...prayer...Dr. Fort speaking. Wonderful message. And then it happened.....
Dr. Fort told us the story of his first time preaching the gospel when he was 16 years old. He told us how terrible he was, and how he couldn't wait for the invitation to be over. We're all smiling, imagining this picture. And then he shares with us what happened during the invitation. An elderly woman, paralyzed from the waist down and laying at the back of the church, used her arms and crawled down the aisle because she felt the Spirit talking to her. My smile quickly disappeared, and I couldn't breathe. She crawled down the aisle to meet her Savior. I felt that a mirror was placed in front of me, and reflected how shallow, conceited, and ungrateful I am. How self-centered and spoiled I am. How undeserving and clueless I am. Dr. Fort reminded us that God's arm is not too short, and His ear is not deaf. He spoke to this woman.....and she responded to Him.
He then shared the story of another elderly woman who was dying, but still coherent. This woman heard about Jesus Christ for the first time about 3 hours before she died. Three hours. What if Dr. Fort hadn't gotten there in time? This woman received Jesus Christ as Savior mere hours before death.
I'm reminded of Someone Else who crawled. The Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings, the Great I Am, the Lord Most High, the Lamb, the Savior of the World.....Jesus Christ voluntarily entered this world. This dark, cold, lost world. For me. And you. He allowed Himself to be beaten, falsely accused, and crucified. Because He loves me. And you. He crawled for me. He took upon Himself punishment that was mine, because He knew I needed someone to save me. And He was the only one who's blood was pure.
He reminded me Sunday that every soul on this planet was created by Him, and is loved by Him. He reminded me that I frequently lose sight of what's important. The end goal. The end goal is every person hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. He gives us the same instructions He gave the 12.....Go and Tell. I heard Mercy Me's song Goodbye Self on the radio today, and the words couldn't be more true....."Life is apparently not about me anyway". This journey isn't about me. It's about Him. It's about how He loves someone as selfish, unworthy, and sinful as me. It's about how He loves me so much that He crawled for me.
May I never forget the story of an elderly woman, paralyzed, crawling down an aisle to the arms of the One who created her. Who loves her. But most importantly, may I never forget or take for granted the Story of the One who was born of a virgin, was sinless, and gave Himself willingly for me. And you.
