"soul winner"

Many years ago an old preacher told me happily that he was a “soul winner”. “Soul winner”…I like the sound of that. It sounds holy in a “rubber meets the road” kind of way. I think about that man and how he would constantly bring the Jesus into almost every conversation that he had. You could tell that it wasn’t even an overly conscious decision anymore...he didn’t have to amp himself up to “do evangelism” or pray for hours to work up the boldness. Bringing Jesus into the conversation was as natural to him as talking about the weather or local sports team is to most of us. Jesus was his joy, his passion, and his obsession. Of course he was going to talk about Him, he wanted everyone to know his Jesus!

“Soul winner”, over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about that old phrase. What does it really take to be one? I know that nothing I can do in my power could ever bring a soul to saving faith…that is 100% The Lord’s gracious doing. I rather choose to think of a “soul winner” as an instrument that is ready to be taken up and used at any moment. The credit never goes to the brush that paints the masterpiece but to the brilliant artist whose skilled hand wields the brush. Honestly, I don’t think the brush minds not getting the praise; rather, I believe the brush just feels honored to be used by the master. After all, he could have chosen any brush to reveal his brilliance, but he chose this one. So, what does it take to be a “soul winner”? When you put it its simplest terms, I think it comes down to a desire to be available for the Master’s use.

God has many masterpieces yet to paint, are you available?