2000 years later? Nothing has changed. He is just as passionate about telling others about his Father as he was back then. He is still infusing purpose and eternal destiny in human hearts, still rescuing others from the wiles of the devil , and still wooing people into God’s love through his goodness – only difference is that he is using you and me to carry it forth.
Sharing God’s love is what we do best. It is our DNA. It is our heritage. It should come natural. Why have we made something so easy and natural into something so difficult and complex? We are Christ’s body, are we not? We have the mind, heartbeat, and soul of Jesus, do we not? As Christ's body, the continuation of his love is poured out from heaven through us.
That is the foundation for sharing his love. Once that is established, the rest is glorious gravy. Our problem is that the church is often viewed as a hustle-bustle of energy-sapping activity. Her shepherds look stressed, her sheep are consumed with conferences, teaching series’, and spiritual exhaustion. Much of what we call discipleship has little to do with doing life and more to do with the checking of a “to-do” list, complete with theology, scripture memorization, and other essential academia. If we are not careful we may think we need to be educated learned men in order to gain respect from those who need Jesus the most.
Have you heard the phrase, “We are human beings, not human doings”? So true. The best things flow from being, not doing. Being is flow. It simply is. It is in that “is-ness” that Christ’s Spirit is caught by others. We spend so much time doing that we have forgotten the best things flow from being. Endless activities, though potentially good, present an anemic church to the world - one consumed with stress, more meetings, more consumerism, and production, and more expectations (only this time it’s all done in the Name of the Lord).
Mary had a little Lamb
Her sleep was, O, so sweet
Then Mary became born again
And died for lack of sleep.
Welcome to your Sabbath rest! Why would anyone want to join that?
Being in authentic witness is easy. It is not so much about what we do as much as who we are. We do have a mission. The world is dependent upon us to be lights in her darkness.
It is our ongoing dependence on God that is the key to authentic, non-nerdy, evangelism.
Here are some reminders on witnessing to bring into the marketplace in the morning:
1. Christ in us speaks louder than we do. There is no sure-fire method/formulae of sharing the 5 spiritual laws, no cleverly orchestrated Cecil B. DeMille conversion epic, no anointed whacks on the back of the head with a ten-pound KJB, or no 4D multi-media production that will reach a thirsty soul for Christ. Rather, it is the fragrance of Christ in us (2 Corinthians 2:14) that become the hinges of the doors of their salvation. That’s something that just can’t be worked up. Jesus loves to be seen by others through us. While our tracts are important they wont be effective unless united with that certain “Something” within us. God’s love transcends far deeper than anything we could ever say.
2. God’s mysterious ways provide guilt-free witnessing. Perhaps you and been particularly burdened to share the Lord with someone, but didn’t. Or, on the other hand, perhaps you have witnessed to someone for hours, only to look back to realize you misquoted verses, ran down rabbit trails, or even compromised you own moral character. Guess what. It’s all right if we don’t do it right. They wont go to hell. God loves them too much and would never be so foolish as to place their entire eternal destination solely in hands of a single, trembling saint.
If we’ve “blown our witness” – God has already known that and has arranged someone else to share that same Gospel with them. This doesn’t advocate sloppy evangelism - not at all. Yet, God’s grace covers the times when we’ve fallen short of the mark. Let us be about the business of skillfully preparing for the for the privilege of sharing Christ with the person ahead, and not condemn ourselves for not bringing them to salvation, or (upon hindsight) realizing what we said may have been misinterpreted for something else. God know. He’s bigger than all that.
3. Jesus didn’t witness to everyone and neither need we. Good news: the salvation of every person you see on the sidewalk is not up to you! In Jesus’ day everyone needed to hear Good News. But not everyone heard it from Jesus. Jesus was very decisive with whom he talked with. He did not heal everybody. No doubt he passed many people on the streets every day without talking to them, even though he knew they needed him.
Jesus witnessed only to whom the Father was showed him. That was his success, if you will. When he got in the public arena, he was acutely aware of those to whom he was to share, or not share, with. If his Father willed it, it happened. If not, he kept on walking. Somewhere down the line they would hear the Gospel. But it would be in God’s time, from someone else.
Each of us is wired to reach a specific target market for God. You are specifically created – temperament, personality, humor, etc. – to reach a specialized slice of the non-Christian demographic. Because of that, not everyone will hear about God from you. But some will. They are your open doors. When you run across the person you naturally click with, go for it; naturally and humbly, taking advantage of the divine encounter. Use your vocabulary, your salvific experience, the verses you know and how God uses them in your life. Don’t witness like someone you are not.
4. Different Seeds for Different Soils. When it comes to where people are in the Lord - or in the process of conversion - people are all over the map. Some only need a light-hearted reminder they are not alone in the universe. Others need a clear understanding on a spiritual precept – like “unconditional love,” for example. Some need water, others need miracle grow. Some need to be heard. What worked well with the last person may not fly with the future person. Our words need to be “on time” with where the person is at the time of our interaction. In short, our words need to be prophetic.
In college I was led to speak to a woman after class one evening. It was difficult for me because of what the Lord had asked me to share. I told her that I was a Christian and the Lord wanted her to know that her aborted child forgave her. She was visibly struck. She placed her books down and was overcome by God. After a moment she looked up and said that another person came out of the blues the week previous and said the same thing to her. I smiled, said, “Perhaps the Lord is trying to tell you something”, and walked away.
Witnessing is much broader than sharing the message of salvation. It is a prophetic labeling, or defining, what God is doing around those he has us around. That woman may have been a believer or not. Little matter. God met her where she was in her journey to heaven.
5. Love rules. Our greatest witness is seen in how we love others. We may have great boldness, great prophetic insight, superior gifts of teaching, tongues, and hospitality but, as Larry Norman sang, “Without love you ain’t nothing without love. Without love you ain’t nothing without love.”
Love is the true litmus test of our credibility before the world will be revealed in the way we live out Christ in the context of Christian community. Do we love one another – I mean really love each other, sacrificially? I believe this is where evangelization really begins.
May God provide us with growth and opportunities to share his love in Jesus Christ. May he form us into authentic people. May we love others as he loved others, and as he loves us.
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