When I was a little boy

I was a happy-go-lucky kid cheerful and smiling most of the time.

I liked my life and things

just seemed OK for me for the most part. I had a great and loving mom

and dad, I liked school, and I loved playing anything sports, games, whatever.

My life was fun. My life was happy.

BUT I remember that in spite

of my happiness, I worried a lot about one thing. I just couldn't get

it off my mind. Whenever I stopped to think about important things, this

one thought seemed constantly to come into my mind. I couldn't shake it.

It just never went away. It was always there.

What was that thought that

bothered my otherwise cheery childhood?

It was this What's going

to happen to the people who don't know Jesus?

You need to know right here

and now that even though my dad was a pastor, I did not always behave

like a miniature saint! I could get in trouble with the best of them.

I didn't usually set out to get in trouble, but there were many times

when I did things that I thought were just slightly outside the rules

and therefore not bad, OR I did things that I thought for sure I would

not get caught doing.

Well, I discovered that my

definition of "just slightly outside the rules" was a bit different

from my parents' and teachers' understanding of the same. And as sneaky

as I sometimes thought I was, I got caught my fair share and ended up

paying the consequences enforced on me by my disappointed and irritated

superiors.

The point here is this: I was

not a pious junior pastor at age 6 or 8 or 10 or 16 with a halo shining

above my head, and I sure did NOT go around with ONLY theological questions

and ONLY evangelism concerns.

But this one thing ... this

one question ... this one burning spot in my soul ... kept surfacing over

and over again in my boyhood: What's going to happen to the people who

don't know Jesus?

I had found such comfort

and security in knowing Jesus. I knew I was never alone. I knew I was

never unloved no matter how bad I was. I knew I was never without help

and guidance and direction. I knew I was never in a hopeless mess. BECAUSE

I knew Jesus!

And from an early age I figured

out that it was even better and more important that Jesus knew me! And

he loved me! WOW! That mattered! That made a difference! I couldn't make

it without Him!

And if all my other more sophisticated

understandings failed, I always knew ...

Jesus loves me, this I know;

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong;

They are weak, but he is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me; Yes,

Jesus loves me;

Yes, Jesus loves me, The

Bible tells me so!

I KNEW THAT! But my experiences

in my growing little world and in my blossoming understanding of a universe

much bigger than my backyard made me realize the disturbing truth that

not everyone knew Jesus. And not eveyone knew that Jesus loved them! And

not everyone knew that they needed Jesus to save them from their sin.

And not everyone knew the good thing Jesus is in this world and the great

thing he is for the next.

Not everyone knew.

So I wrestled what's going

to happen to people who don't know Jesus? They must be so sad. They must

be so lost. They must be so miserable. I just can't stand to think that

some people don't know Jesus.

Then, one day, Jesus answered

my question. I'm serious. As direct as from me to you. He said this to

my spirit, "Justin, you let me worry about what's going to happen

to the people who don't know Me. You just make sure you tell as many

people as you can about me. Every one you tell will be one less that

doesn't know me. And one more you don't have to worry about."

WOW again! I remember the time

I thought to myself that if I could tell even just one person about Jesus

and have that be the start of that person's faith relationship with him,

that would be great! This would probably fulfill my life's purpose! But

then the phrase "as many people as you can" kept ringing and

ringing in my head and heart.

And so I come to the present.

..."as many people as you can" ... and I'm not done yet ...

or more exactly "Jesus isn't done with me yet." There are so

many more to tell. Who will it be still today? Who will it be tomorrow?

How

many more next week? How many

more next year? How many more in my earthly lifetime?

Why do I tell you all this?

Just to let you know why I'm a little nuts about God's work. Just to let

you know why I'm a little nuts about our congregation's ministry. Just

to let you know why I'm a little nuts about growing and expanding our

mission to tell others together.

Just to let you know why I'm

a little nuts about getting more people to come to worship by calling

houses every Saturday with a recorded invitation. Just to let you know

why I'm a little nuts about a new parking lot for twice as many cars and

people. Just to let you know why I'm a little nuts about a new buliding

to reach more people and tell more people about Jesus.

It matters, you know. It matters

a lot!

My prayer is that you, my fellow

Christians, also have a burning spot for people who don't know Jesus.

And you, too, want to tell as many people as YOU can about Jesus. And

you, too, are a little nuts about God's work in your church.

I know I'll be doing this 'til

the day I die. Let's do it together! Won't that be great?

[Kollmeyer is senior pastor

of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Ga. Highway 314 in Fayetteville,

between Lowe's and The Pavilion. Contact him at 770-461-3403 or at [email protected].]

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