On the way to Greenville yesterday, Will Beaty and I passed two NASCAR haulers (photo below) for Joey Logano and Trevor Bayne. Being NASCAR fans, they caught our attention. It seems sports does that with a lot of us. College football kicked off last night and we saw cars flying Gamecock flags on their way to the SC vs NC game in Columbia. In fact I had breakfast yesterday with some guys from our church and two of them were wearing their Gamecock colors. Our son Steven and his wife are coming to Rock Hill this weekend to celebrate his birthday, but we’ve already said we’ll be back from dinner in time to watch Kentucky’s season opening game on TV Saturday night.

I bought a used truck this week after considering options for several weeks. During that time I noticed a lot of trucks on the road, looking for certain features to help me decide what I wanted. Even today, I still notice those features on other trucks because my mind is still focused on it. It’s funny how that works. We tend to notice what we’re looking for.

Maybe that explains why we don’t always notice people who don’t go to church or don’t know Jesus. We’re not looking for them…not focused on them. So they don’t catch our attention when they cross our path.

Jesus said, “open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Jesus is telling us to be intentional. Don’t leave evangelism to chance. Focus on it. If you do, you’re much more likely to see what God sees when He looks at the people in our part of the world. You’re also more likely to make a difference in other people’s lives. So pay attention!

Pastor Steve Hogg