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The Apostle Aldi

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March 3, 2021

I didn’t see him coming toward us, but then again I wasn’t expecting him either.  A nicely dressed elderly gentleman walked up and commented on the strawberries and blueberries that we had bought and were putting in our bags.  After a couple of minutes of talking about fruits and vegetables, I noticed that he didn’t have a wedding band on his hand.  “Perhaps he is a lonely widower,” I thought.  “He just needs someone to talk to.”  About that time he snapped me out of my deep thought with a question.  “Do you have Jesus right here?”  As he pointed to his heart, I looked into his face and smiled.  I said, “I sure do sir, but thank you for asking.”  

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I didn’t tell him that I was the pastor of a wonderful church.  I didn’t tell him about my degrees, or that I had “Dr” in front of my name. He didn’t ask about those things.  He asked me about my relationship with Jesus.

The conversation soon ended and he turned to walk away.  For a split second, I thought about telling him one other thing.  I just couldn’t find the courage to speak up.  I wanted to say, “Sir, I wish I could be like you.”  I watched him put his groceries in his car and wondered where he would go next to talk to someone about Jesus.

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The word “apostle” means “sent one.”  The Twelve original followers of Jesus were called Apostles because they were sent out to preach the Gospel everywhere they went.

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Since I never got the name of the elderly gentleman who spoke to me in the grocery story, I just call him “The Apostle Aldi.”  I have a feeling I could also call him “The Apostle Lowes,” or “The Apostle Walgreens.”  It seems like wherever he goes, he takes the Gospel with him!

Maybe he got the idea from Jesus.  He once said, “While you are going, make disciples…” (Matt. 28:18)  The Apostle Aldi apparently takes that verse literally.  While he was out shopping for groceries, he decided to stop and have a conversation about Jesus.  

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If I ever see him in the grocery store again, I have a question that I am going to ask him.  “How long have you been doing that?  How long have you been talking to people about Jesus like it was the most natural conversation in the world?”

These days I find myself praying for that kind of courage.  I want to be able to walk through a grocery store and talk about strawberries, blueberries, and Jesus.

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Just imagine how God might use us if we would just take the Gospel with us wherever we go.  That idea comes straight out of scripture, by the way.  Acts 8:4 says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”     I have an idea that The Apostle Aldi would have felt right at home with that crowd!

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As you go about your life this week please remember this…you can never take the Gospel to the wrong place. 

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