A New Creature

A New Creature
Bill Bright


Luke 12:48 ~ nlt ~
Much is required from those to whom much is given



Dear friends:


Do not give up on someone you have a burden for to receive Christ. God works in mysterious ways to bring people into His kingdom.


An example occurred shortly after we began the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry. A mother called me one day and told me about her son, a non-Christian, but who had been making contributions to this ministry through her. She asked me to witness to him. I learned that the son owned five newspapers. He was a man of great means, who had it all.


After several days I did call him and said, "Your mother tells me that you're the one who's giving this money. I want to thank you for what you're doing." He interrupted me and bluntly said, "I'm not a Christian. You know I'm not a Christian."


I replied, "Is there any reason?"


After a long silence, he said, "I can't think of any."


I said, "Come out to the university and join me in meeting with the students." To my surprise, he did come. It was a big fraternity house filled with excited college students, mostly new Christians and others who were seeking God. He looked around the room in awe.

"Are these people Christians?" he said. He had never seen anything like this. He later came to several meetings, but did not receive Christ. One night he went with me to a church service where I gave the invitation to receive our Lord. He and his wife slipped out the side door during my invitation to receive Christ.


They were pacing the sidewalk outside the church when I came out. As we were driving away, he said, "When you gave the invitation, we slipped out. We didn't want to be a part of that." But he added, "Is it too late for us to receive Christ."


When we returned home, we got on our knees and they received Christ. That night he and his wife read the Bible for hours, and even though an alcoholic, he never took another drink, as far as I know. For a couple of years I discipled him by taking him to skid row missions and prisons to witness. And he began giving his wealth to help promote the cause of Christ.


One day I said to him, "You know a lot of people who could do what you are doing at the prisons and on skid row. Somebody needs to go to the executives. Go to your peers and tell them what has happened." He did, and for many years had an impact on thousands of leading businessmen and women.


"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17 - KJV).


Yours for fulfilling the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,


Bill Bright