Discipleship Opportunity

Yesterday was another message on the Great Commission. It was about the call to "go and make disciples." At some point I said "the best way to make disciples is to be disciples." That simply being disciples in our everyday life influences more people than all the evangelism programs in the world. As an example I said that whenever I ask someone what lead them to become a disciple they rarely answer "it was this gospel tract that was anonymously left on my windshield or it was this stranger who knocked on my door and invited me to a revival." Instead they say "it was this good friend of mine who is always so kind or this co-worker who has such integrity or my spouse and her patience." It's people, not progams. So the challenge was to "go and be disciples." Be honest in your business dealings, be satisfied with your possessions, be kind to your neighbors, be patient with your spouse, treat others the way you want to be treated, etc. Look for opportunities to practice discipleship! Today one came my way...

On my way to the shepherd's meeting I stopped at a c-store for a Gatorade and bag of cashews (otherwise known as supper). My total came to $3.57. I handed the clerk four dollars. She was distracted by something her manager was telling her and punched $40.00 into the register. It tallied up my change at $36.43. I figured she'd catch it when she started counting out the change, but she didn't. She quickly passed me the handful of bills and started helping the next customer. I hesitated just a moment. After all that was my last four dollars and Sonic was just around the corner. But I slide the dollars back and whispered "I only gave you $4.00." Her eyes got wide and she mouthed back "thank you!"

So I got the opportunity to practice two acts of discipleship. I was honest about the extra change and I was kind enough to discreetly return it. After all, the manager was standing right there and they tend to frown on employees handing out free cash.