I was at the mall today, witnessing to those who sit patiently at their kiosk. The first man I approached was reading a Christian book. He attends a local Christian University and he is studying to be a pastor. I asked him to witness to me and he immediately brought up happiness. He said, "Do you want to be happy? You will never be fulfilled without Jesus." I thought about his statement as I approached Sam. It was Sam's first day on the job and he knew very little about what he was selling. Sam informed me that he is a Christian from India. Christians are persecuted in India every day. I asked Sam why he would be a Christian and submit himself to such persecution. He told me that he did not become a Christian until he moved to the States. A friend from college invited him to a local church and he said, "From that point on, I just knew that this was the truth." He then proceeded to tell me about the response of his parents as his eyes began to water, "They have not spoken to me in six years. They are extremely upset with me. It hurts not being able to talk to my dad. I miss him." Suppose I approached Sam like the gentleman that I had just spoken with and offered Sam a happy life. Sam was not living his best life now. I asked Sam, "Why do you continue to be a Christian when it causes you so much pain?" He replied, "I don't know." I then shared the gospel with Sam, and in the end I told him that we don't pick up our cross and follow Jesus because we want to live the happy life. We follow him because he saved us! Sam grabbed my hand and squeezed it as hard as he could. He then said, "Thank you. You made a lot of sense tonight. I needed to hear this."
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