The first time I met Len he spoke inside behind his security door for ten minutes, then he stepped out from the door onto the porch and we spoke for another ten minutes or so, then he called for his wife May to come and meet me. May was very happy that this event was taking place because she too had been born again by the Spirit of God and she knew immediately that it was His hand that brought us together. She invited me to come inside and we continued our conversation for a further thirty minutes.
On the doorstep I learned that Len was retired a gentleman and he told me that he had cancer and thought that it would not be long before he was dead. When I asked him if he had ever experienced God in his life he said he had not, and in fact, he said he doubted God’s existence. He was not rude or arrogant (like many) as he made the statement and he gave me his attention when I spoke about the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of what I shared was certainly not new to Len either, because not only was his wife born again, but so was his married son and married daughter – both with teenage families. I knew God was calling Len to Himself from that day.
As we continued to speak both on the porch and inside I thought that there was every chance that Len didn’t really want to know if God existed or not, because if He did, then Len had a decision to make – a hard decision – accept Christ or reject Christ. He was no different than most people in this, that is why so many will say the same thing when confronted with the same question. I was finding human nature to be an interesting study in itself doing this work, observing that most people are reluctant to make definite “yes” or “no” choices on any serious issues.
Nevertheless, Len told me he enjoyed our time together and he invited me to, “call back anytime.” May said likewise, so I said I would do so within two weeks. On that second visit I noticed an openness to the message of Christ in Len that was not there the previous visit. May told me in front of her husband that, “lots of people” were praying for his salvation and she shared how God had told her that, “all your family will rejoice in the Lord.” Len had a grin on his face but a, “I doubt it” look in his eyes, which didn’t change when I told him I believed God’s word to his wife.
From that moment on, I made it not only my business to continue in intercession for Len’s soul, but that I would have a time of fasting as well. Whatever my future involvement was to be, I would make myself ready to the uttermost to be used of God in it. On that second visit I noticed the bulk of May’s chatting to be based on the blessings of being in Christ and whilst it is true that the blessings are awesome, I knew that this was foreign language to Len, so I concentrated on discerning the voice of God to meet Len’s needs, not those of his wife or myself.
Due to the ministry, power and desires of God for this man, a solid genuine relationship was being created amongst us. On my third visit Len shared with me that his sister became crippled with arthritis at the age of seventeen. It happened soon after she fell of her bike, “nearly sixty years ago.” She died and was buried the week previously to this one. Before she died, however, a minister whom she had never met before, led her to the Lord Jesus Christ. At death’s door, Len’s sister received the gift of eternal life.
At his sister’s funeral, Len no doubt heard much about the reality, love, patience and mercy of God and the biblical fact that He has no desire for the loss of any one’s soul, but I added to it by reminding Len of those words God gave to his wife. I said, “There’s another one Len. You’re next.” He grinned but gave nothing away. On the way home I was encouraged by the news from that visit. It was a confirmation of God’s promise to May. It was never going to be “if” God would respond to our prayer for this man, but rather, “when?” This called for continued prayer, fasting and thanksgiving on my part.
Each subsequent visit from thereon revealed Len’s physical condition to be deteriorating. Our relationship was growing but he was clearly slipping. His body was much thinner than a few days earlier and death was now written in his eyes. Just a day or so after observing this, God told me early one morning in prayer, “I have redeemed him.” I did not mention this to Len when we next spoke but I did ask him if he would like to invite Christ into his life and he said, “Not yet. I have to have time to make the choice.” I rested in that, thanking God for the way that He gives honour to each person when it comes to choices and decisions.
The next time I called to see Len, May had a big smile on her face. Len had received the Lord into his life as a result of some time in prayer with his son. The mercy, compassion and love of God was once again observed by us all to be abounding and unlimited, just as the Bible declares them to be. This man had been refusing Jesus Christ since his wife came to Him thirty years earlier, but all along God knew that this would change – in His time and in His way. Len had a, “God won after all” expression on his face, but because he was now experiencing the reality of the Lord, he was now very grateful that this was so.
Len also made it clear to me that he was very appreciative and thankful for my visits and for taking the time to listen to him where he was at. Ninety-five days and eleven visits since our first meeting, I received a call early one evening informing me that Len had died. We would meet no more this side of eternity. But meet, we most certainly will on the other side. May told me that just before he died, Christ revealed Himself to this man.
She said their son’s minister was anointing Len with oil and he was in a semi-conscious state at the time. But then he became fully conscious and pointed to the corner of the bedroom, saying he could see the Lord appearing to him in the form of a very bright light. Nobody else saw what he saw, but nobody doubted Len’s testimony either, because it’s Biblical. The Scriptures tell us God never changes. That means whatever God did “back then,” He can and will do in our time if He deems it expedient for his dying children. It was expedient for Len.
It was an honour to be asked by the family to participate at Len’s funeral four days later. I was given some Scriptures to read from New Testament Romans Chapter 8 which speak of present suffering, but future glory, plus the fact that in spite of those sufferings, we who are in Christ, are more than conquerors because of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Len was experiencing the absolute truths of those declarations in their totality whilst I was reading them. He would have been nodding in agreement. “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40.