Standing on the Corner

     A few days ago I left work early. We were overstaffed and I didn't have a patient assignment so I asked if I could leave early. As I was driving down the street, I noticed a man standing on the corner holding a sign. He was wearing a bright fluorescent orange vest that a road worker would wear. He was just standing on that corner holding the sign, smiling and waving at people as they drove by. I had seen the same man on the same corner a couple of times before, although I thought it was two or three years earlier. I hadn't really given him much thought before. I just drove on by and carried on with the rest of my day. As I sat at the stoplight on that particular day, I watched the man. For the first time, I really saw the man and thought about what he was doing. The sign he was holding read "Jesus Christ is the name above all names."

     I thought about how difficult it must have been for that man to stand there with that sign for the first time. I'm sure that many people driving by him every day must think he is absolutely crazy standing there with that sign. When the Lord first called the man to minister in this way, he must have thought, "You want me to do what? Really?" It is human nature for us to care about what others think of us. I admired that man and his courage for being obedient to God's calling.
     I then thought about the physical discomfort involved in standing out there on the corner for who knows how many hours. It was pretty cold on the day that I saw him. Did he stand out there in the snow and rain? What about lightening? Had he ever gotten scorched by the sun's rays while he shared the love of God with others? Did he ever almost get hit by a car? How far would this man go? What would he endure to carry out God's purpose for him? And then I wondered, "What would I endure to fulfill God's will?" Would I endure physical discomfort? Pain? Ridicule? Torture? Would I even endure uncertainty about the future, not knowing where God's plan would take me?

     I know it seems crazy to think that I pondered all of these things as I watched the man with the sign for that brief moment. I then realized that God put that man there for me to see. He wanted me to see the man's amazing obedience to him despite the certainty of being judged by others. He also wanted me to see his steadfast endurance and faith in God as he withstood unpleasant and potentially dangerous environmental conditions. I remembered thinking about seeing the man there two or three years earlier. The Lord brought to mind the man's continued faithfulness and obedience as he continued to follow the Lord's calling for him for all of those years. God wanted me to see that man and to evaluate my own life and my own obedience to Him. He wanted me to ask myself, "Do I have what it takes to stand on the corner alongside that man, proclaiming the word of God to everyone passing by?" Do you have what it takes?

Deuteronomy 5:33
Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
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