“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16

Barry, a kind, grandfatherly type, sat alone by the window, eating his sandwich and sipping soup. He seemed like someone you would enjoy as a neighbor and he was willing to answer our survey questions.

“Who is God in your understanding,” Andi asked.

“He is life.” Barry explained. “He is everything,”

We also learned that he felt mankind was in a mess. He said the problem stemmed from hatred.

Barry had friends who said they were Christians, but he didn’t see any evidence of a changed life in them. (One of these friends was a pastor and the other was his wife!)

At the end of our survey when Andi asked if he would want to know God, Barry indicated, “Definitely not.”

I shared a bit of my testimony of how God had changed me, but I was saddened that Barry did not personally know Christians whose lives would demonstrate Christ to him. I thought, we can’t be just “nice neighbors” or just “good people.” The lost and dying people around us NEED for us to radiate Christ Himself and to explain His offer of salvation to them.