A few weeks back I was sitting with a buddy of mine and I asked him how he came to know Jesus.

He told me his whole story but what interested me most was when he said, 

“I had everything the world had to offer. Parties, friends, money, a good job. I had worked since first-year university, but one night I decided not to go out with my friends and just sat in my basement. In that basement, I realized I was empty, not fulfilled by life.

I went over to YouTube and found a video of a preacher, and by listening to that video I came to personally encounter Jesus.”

I found this incredible. Who finds Jesus through a video!?! And on his own? I bet none of his friends knew that he was feeling empty and unfulfilled that night. Or that he would be willing to take a chance with God at that moment.

I often ask people about who they could share Jesus with. A common response I hear is, "I don’t know. All of my friends are atheist or agnostic."

It can be intimidating to ask people, especially if you know where they stand. Or think you know where they stand. It’s easy to play out the conversation in our head, assuming what they’ll say.  

But it’s in these moments of hesitation that I think of my friend; I bet someone would have described him as an atheist or agnostic, and look what happened. There was a turning point in his life and no one saw it coming.

So my question is, just because they are a staunch atheist does that mean that at times they won’t feel empty or unfilled at times? Does that mean we should not offer the Gospel to them? You never know when someone might say yes.

I have another friend who used to work for the government and was a strong atheist. One day a friend invited him to a faith study to hear about Jesus. He knew my friend probably wouldn’t want to come but he never counted him out.

My friend did say yes, though. Even better, he did meet Jesus. Today, he works with Catholic Christian Outreach as a full-time missionary.

Who saw that coming? Would anyone have ever thought he was going to say yes?

No, but the inviter was faithful. He didn’t make the decision for his friend and instead took a chance that changed his friend’s life.

We don’t know where people are at. By assuming they do not want to hear the message we are doing them a disservice and everyone deserves the opportunity to know Jesus. 

Who will you invite? 

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This article was originally published on CanadianCatholic.net.