38. Be extraordinarily gracious, loving, and polite
Proverbs 16:24 NIV “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
Be super gracious. It might seem unnatural for you but do it! When you do, people will be kind in return. Now in my little brain, that transaction means that we are now friends. So, share Jesus!
I might be the most impatient man in my family, but when a Gospel opportunity is potentially involved, I slow down. My wife says, “You turn into the best listener in those important and sometimes sacred circumstances.” Judy has spent a lifetime trying to slow me down. Not exactly a successful effort. A few weeks ago, the DNA company “23 and Me,” asked if I was a high energy person. Duhhhhh! That lead to some laughter at our house. I just love working, but extraordinary graciousness and politeness often earns me a right to share what might be the most important message a person will ever hear.
Side story: My grandmother on my father’s side, was an absolute saint. In every sense she was gracious and loving. She also was intense and hard-working, and I think I inherited several of these qualities from her. Her name was Caroline Udora Millage. I’ve never known another Udora. What was she like? She helped my father build a house out of used lumber during the Great Depression and the home is still standing in Mitchell, SD. She was an amazing cook, gardener, handywoman, piano and voice teacher, she made us clothes, and altered clothes for all the pastors. Grandma went door-to-door in the 1960s telling people about Jesus and the dangers of Marxism.
She was the greatest prayer warrior I have ever known. My older brother had incurable brain cancer in 1962, and the doctor decided not to put a steel plate in his head. After all, nobody survives this kind of cancer…not even today. He went from 130 pounds to 67 pounds in the 6th grade and didn’t speak for about three months. The entire family was sure he would die. Udora, the prayer warrior enters the picture. Bob served the Lord and his family until he was 66, when he died of a heart attack. Another example of Grandma’s answered prayers: Grandma’s sister was an absolute witch who came to Christ at 91 years old, long after Grandma had passed. Grandma’s prayers are still being answered today! I can’t wait to see her again! Nothing is more powerful and more loving than prayer!
Matthew 21:21-22 NIV “Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”