A friend and I sat down for lunch in a restaurant. When our waitress came to serve us, we both noticed that she did so with very little joy, as if she was annoyed at having to serve us. We kept commenting to each other about this and criticizing her attitude. We decided that she was not earning a good tip.
At the end of our not-so-pleasant lunch, my friend’s phone rang and he got up apologetically to take the call in private. I am an artist and had recently drawn a picture of Jesus, written a message on the back, and printed out copies. I carry them with me and hand them out to whomever crosses my path—the cashier, the waiter, etc. I decided to give the “unfriendly waitress” one.
She asked, “What is this?” I told her, “It’s a special message for your heart.” Right then, as she stood by the table, she began to read it, and soon I saw tears falling from her eyes. When she finished reading it, I said a few words to her and we ended up sitting opposite each other. I listened to a beautiful person, whom I had so wrongly judged, as she told me about all the struggles and difficulties she had been going through.
I offered to pray with her to receive Jesus, who could help her to cope, and in His time, help provide solutions to her problems. Without hesitation she prayed a fervent prayer with me to receive Jesus into her heart.
As we were saying goodbye, I wanted to give her a good tip, but she refused, saying: “No, no, please, you have given me life today! Please don’t forget me!” As I live far away, I passed her contact information on to a friend who lives in the same city so that she could go see her and help her in any way she could.
This experience taught me how important it is not to make hasty judgments about others, for as this quote says: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”
Jesus loves you. He died on the cross so that, through His sacrifice, you could have eternal life. If you call on Him, He will come to you and He will never leave you. To receive Jesus, you can pray this simple prayer:
Dear Jesus, please forgive me for my sins. I believe that You died for me. I invite You into my heart and life. Please fill me with Your love and Holy Spirit. Help me to love You and love others and live by the truth of the Bible. Amen.