Crossing Paths :: By Dale V. Nobbman

We cross paths with many people in this world during our lifetimes.  Most of them we never know at all or know well, but a few people, like family members, schoolmates, neighbors, and workplace co-workers, we are blessed to know better sometime during our lives.  Billions of people live at the same time we do, but we only get to know or interact with a tiny fraction of that number during our lifespans.  Maybe only a handful of people, or perhaps a few hundred or a thousand at best, depending on your sphere of interaction with others.

Unless you happen to be a famous politician, entertainer, musician, or social media ‘influencer’ constantly in the public spotlight, most of us do not have the opportunity to influence or be influenced by very many of our fellow travelers through the course of our brief earthly lives.

It is intriguing to think that we live during the same time period as some notable people, and indeed, some younger people or citizens from other countries might think we actually interact and rub shoulders with some famous people on a daily basis, but the odds of that are very low.

For example, I was alive in the 1950s at the same time as Albert Einstein, James Dean, Hank Williams, Humphrey Bogart, Buddy Holly, Al Jolson, George Bernard Shaw, Errol Flynn, and George Reeves (the original Superman), but I never knew them. So, our lives crossed paths only in the broadest of terms, during one decade of time before their deaths in the 1950’s.

Personally, I think the only famous people I have ever spoken to in person are the singer and songwriter, Willie Nelson, when I sold him a pair of grey sweatpants at a local sporting goods store in 1979, and Rick Evans of the music duo ‘Zager & Evans’ back in 1974 when I worked at a local electronics store.  Z and E had the huge prophetic #1 song of 1969, “In the Year 2525.”

My main point of this article is that no matter how many people you end up crossing paths with in this life, and no matter at what social level of society, the most important thing we can share with others of urgent eternal importance is the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

As Christians, we are ambassadors for Christ and need to share the ‘Good News’ of Jesus Christ with everyone we can reach in our own little or big realm of influence.  However, we must remember we are only the messengers—only Jesus can do the saving of people from their sins.

“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31).

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek [Gentiles]” (Romans 1:16).

“And He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’” (Mark 16:15).

“The faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel” (Colossians 1:5).

“But God proved his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

Next time you are crossing paths with others, consider sharing the Gospel message with them in some sincere, caring way.  Perhaps simply say, “My best advice—is to believe in Jesus Christ.”  Then you have sown the seed of the Gospel.  Let Jesus Christ take it from there to save them.

Just think, if one person, like you, would share the Gospel with just one other person in this world, and so on and so on down the line of people around the world, we would have spread the Gospel to the entire world, one person at a time!

You don’t have to be like a Billy Graham who preached the Gospel to packed stadiums around the world, adding up to millions of people being presented with the Gospel in groups—just be yourself and start by sharing the Gospel with one other person.  God will bless you for doing so.

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