”There was a man….”  (Joh. 3:1)

I once as a boy listened to a highly esteemed preacher speaking to just a few people.  He said:  ”I have in my time spoken to big crowds, but I don´t mind  speaking to just a few.  In fact, the best words ever spoken was spoken to a single man.”  He referred to John 3:16 of course, which we in Denmark call   ”The little Bible”.  In America they call it ”The gospel in a nutshell”.  The words of that preacher have followed me over the years.

Many years ago I went to a big university abt. 20 miles from Copenhagen together with some friends.  That university happened to be the stronghold of Marxism.  When we talked to a group on the campus the typical answer was:  ”We believe…” -  ”We are of the opinion…” -  “Our point of view is…”  I also talked to a young woman alone.  Kirsten was her name.  I said to her:  ”When you are alone by yourself, doesn´t it happen sometimes that you start crying?”  She didn´t want to deny that and suddenly she said:  ”I believe in God too!”  I seemed to hear a cry for help from the soul of that Kirsten who officially was a Marxist.

A soul winner in a leading position in a big international company where I had my first job as a young man in Copenhagen,  used to invite non-Christians to his home.  He actually worked together with couple of other soul winners with the same noble vision.  They just talked informally about the gospel with those non-Christian contacts.  They had a certain favorite song which started like this (translated from Danish):  ”There is a longing in every soul…”  Such a longing often appeared when talking to the individual personally at the coffee break.  He could tell about many such cases.

Don´t become hypnotized by the big numbers.  Have a vision for the individual.  Our Savior had that.

If, however, you happen to speak or write to big numbers, remember that you are still talking to the individual.

-jn-

16.10.09