Lost Souls at the Dinner Table...

The event was a who's who of the town, with every table in the large ballroom filled with the community's best. Lovely people, lovely food. Formal wear, black ties and fancy table decorations. Glittering dresses, flickering candles. Laughter and smiles, hugs and polite conversation. A movie worthy scene for any socialite's dreams.

What did I see? I saw a few friends who talked openly with me about their lives and how God is impacting their days. But, in that same room, I saw many more looking to the world to fill every void. God clearly wanted to give me a better perspective on what He sees in a ballroom full of social stair climbers. At our table, I saw a woman who played the part of popular socialite. The mask she wore was so convincing, even she seemed to believe the charade. Behind the constantly flowing wine glass, loud voice, boisterous laugh, low cut dress, and mile high heels, I saw a woman who was totally empty. The exact person that we, as Christians, are called to minister to. The soul who needs Jesus, the one who is filling that God shaped hole with anything and everything but God.

And I was speechless.
I had no idea what to say.
Nothing to talk about.

As she hit on the man sitting to her right, while her husband sat to her left, I stayed silent. As the names of the high and mighty in the room were rolling from her tongue like credentials on her resume, I kept silent about the highest Name; the One her knees will someday bow to, and her toungue will confess as Lord. Sitting quietly, hiding behind the napkin on my lap, the table between us, and the gulf that separates sinner and sinner saved by grace, I said nothing...out loud anyway.

Instead, I prayed.

I prayed for her, as I gazed into her empty eyes. I prayed for her husband as I saw his eyes well with tears at the sight of his wife hitting on another man. I prayed for everything in their lives, and could say nothing to their faces. But I prayed. Amidst the chatter, the drinking, and the clamor of the room, I prayed. Sitting beside my wonderful husband, with our two wine glasses still sitting empty on the tablecloth, wondering how on earth we wound up at this particular table, I prayed.

Is this evangelism? Not sure. Is this the heart that cries for the lost? It's getting more so everyday. Oh, how we all need to see the world as God see it. How we must understand the spiritual famine in our land, and the impact our prayers will have - if we will only pray.

Lord, help us - help all of us - to see the lost in front of us. At the dinner table. In the grocery line. At the gas station. And cause us to stop right there, in the midst of the moment, and pray for their salvation.

Pray with me?

Jennifer