Perception vs Reality

Sometimes our perception of a person is not reality; there are missed opportunities to share the Gospel because of fear and preconceived ideas. Fortunately God can use these occasions to minister to those involved in the conversation, as a team member with OM Turning Point ministry in London shares.

It was a brisk autumn day as two team members went to hand out portions of Gospel literature. It was their prayer that they would have the opportunity to engage with people that were open to hear the Truth. The two team members stood near each other and began to distribute the literature, hoping that a smile and “good morning” would lead to a conversation.

Frank* looked up to see a man walking toward him. His first thought was, “I am not going to speak to this man.” The man appeared homeless, was carrying four beers and drinking the fifth one, and had a scowl on his face. But God had another plan for Frank.

Frank felt the need to hand this man a piece of Gospel literature and ask him if he had heard about Jesus. He cautiously waited for the man to respond with yelling and words that he did not want to hear.

The man took the literature, walked to the rubbish bin, and threw it away. But then to Frank’s surprise, the man turned around and walked back to Frank... and a conversation began.

Frank had the opportunity to hear this man’s life story. The man shared that he had been to church before, but knew that because of his alcohol problem he was running away from God. 

When the man finished speaking, Frank had the opening to clearly share the Gospel. At the very mention of the name of Jesus, the man began to cry, and Frank continued to share about God’s love for this man.

The man responded, “I am scared,” and began to walk away. He turned around one last time and started to pound his chest and shouted, “Why do I keep meeting people like you who show me love?” With that quick question, he turned and left Frank standing there.

Frank shares that his first impression and perception of this man almost led to a missed opportunity to share about God’s love; his mis-perception could have kept him from learning the reality.

* Name changed for security reasons