While explaining the gospel to a young soldier in Kentucky, I referred to Jesus being crucified on the cross. He gave me a puzzled look and said, "I've never heard about that."

"You've never heard the story of Jesus dying on the cross for your sins?" I asked amazed.

"No," he said, "but I'd like to."

He listened with a look of wonder in his eyes. When I asked if he would like to accept Christ and become His follower, he said with determination, "Yes, that's what I'd like to do."

He was a middle-class high school graduate from a town in the United States but had never heard about Christ dying for his sins. Thinking back on that divine appointment and that soldier's response to the gospel, I have wondered how many other people among my daily contacts have never heard.

Paul told the Romans that it was his ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known (15:20). For us to do that, we may think we need a passport and a special calling. But with a prayerful alertness, we will discover opportunities right where we live.

If we are longing to tell His story, Christ may lead us to those who have never heard.  — David C. McCasland