“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10.

At a recent church convocation, several of us were sitting around discussing the work we were doing in our local congregations. We were sharing a continental breakfast at the motel we had stayed at overnight.

While we were talking, it became apparent that the waiter who was serving us was hearing our conversation. Eventually, he asked us what we were talking about and we told him some of what we had said. He asked our permission to share with us his recent experience.

He told us that he had become a Christian within the past year. He had been heavily involved with drugs and had been estranged from his family, but his encounter with Jesus changed his life in a dramatic way.

We were thrilled to hear his story, but then he also shared with us what had happened to his pastor. Just the night before, his pastor had been shot and killed by a gang of drug dealers in the small town in Pennsylvania we were meeting in.

This was the same pastor who had brought him to Christ. Our waiter’s response was that the gang members did not realize what they had just done. He was certain that rather than diminish the effects the pastor had on the community, those effects would be intensified. He said he is going to tell more people about what Jesus has done in his life. He is not afraid to put his own life on the line for the Gospel. Rather, he is eager to tell others about our Lord.

He described how one of his drug-involved friends had approached him this past year and asked him, “What you got?” He was really hoping our new friend had drugs to share. Rather, our friend touched his heart, smiled, and said “I’ve got Jesus!”

All of us were deeply touched by this encounter and continue to pray for our new friend; better yet, our new brother in Christ. We look with anticipation for the opportunity to meet Pastor Roberto when we are called home. 

I pray that all of us would have the courage to share the Gospel in our everyday lives.

Wayne Knerr,
Woodstown, N.J.

Knerr is president of the South Jersey Chapter of Fellowship of Christian Farmers International. Parts of this column have been taken from a writing by Pastor H. Brian Triller, who has given permission to the column writer.