WAIT! Don’t click that mouse! I know this is an uncomfortable topic, but hear me out. I’m not going to make you do anything. I just want to talk to you about it. Okay? Can we just do that? Now back away from the mouse…slowly. 🙂
Look, I get it. The moment most of us encounter someone talking about stuff like this, we immediately run for the hills because we know what’s next. They’re going to try to get us to do it, and let’s face it, most people don’t have a natural desire to do stuff like this. We like to think that some people are made for witnessing and others aren’t. And more often than not, we like to place ourselves in the “aren’t” category.
I think the reason most of us like to be excused from this is because we think it’s something it’s really not. We think it’s random and creepy. We think it’s hard. We think we have to know more than we know or do something weird that we don’t want to do. So we make up excuses like “it’s invasive and weird and it leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths.” But, all of that stuff is just what we say to try to get out of doing the uncomfortable.
Witnessing is simply living our beliefs out loud. It’s not being ashamed of the same God we call on when we’re in trouble. It’s believing in Him beyond our needs and involving Him in our every day. After all, if I love Jesus, why am I afraid to admit it or talk about Him? Why do I feel like it’s something I’m supposed to hide?
Let me be straight with you. Evangelism is NOT a term I wanted anything to do with. I am NOT a natural. I am STILL NOT super-excited about everything God asks me to do. However…I have given up fighting with Him about it. The fact is…we are ALL called to share our faith with others. The Great Commission is NOT the great suggestion. It is a charge…a commandment. And I’ve found, when I just follow His lead and do or say what God asks me to, it not only blesses the other person, but it also increases my own faith.
I think one of the biggest evangelism hang-ups for people is that we feel like we have to tell people certain things of vast importance…like a prophetic message or passages approved by the greater council of street evangelists and confirmed by the presence of three angels and shown to us through an open vision from the Lord. But that’s not the case at all. We simply need to be normal and allow God to fill our mouths with His words by being in tune with His Spirit on a daily basis. God brings people into our lives every day. It’s when we stop looking away and instead turn our attention toward them that we begin to realize the potential. Do you realize the number of people who will just start telling you random details about their hurts and fears if you just listen? I’m talking about complete strangers here. But too often, we get caught up in our little world of “that wasn’t on my list of things to do next,” and we miss it. We miss the invitation to tell them about the hope that someone took the time to tell us about.
There are so many hurting, broken people in this world and they just don’t know…they don’t know how God can change a life. Some think they don’t believe in Him, but I’ve found that most of those people are just hurt or carrying a grudge against God for some time in their lives when He didn’t respond to their prayers the way they wanted Him to. Then there are some who think they know Him, but they don’t spend any time with Him, developing a real relationship and allowing Him to have full access to their lives. Therefore, they spin their wheels trying to keep one foot in Heaven and one foot in the world and they wonder why it doesn’t work as well for them. Then there are those who don’t know Him at all. No one ever bothered to tell these people that there’s One who loves them, Who understands them, Who gave His life so they could be free to spend eternity with Him. No one ever told them. This makes me so sad. All of this just makes me so sad.
So, I’ve decided to be the one to tell them…all of them. Anyone I meet who will allow me, I’m going to tell them. I’m going to share that there’s a real God, One who loves them, right where they are. I’m going to tell them that they don’t have to attain some level of goodness to come to Him. I’ll tell them whether they laugh or think I’m crazy or patronize me or tell me to go away…I don’t care what they think of me. I just have to tell them.
I hate that I’ve held these things back before. I hate that I was so fearful of man’s rejection that I was willing to allow people to go straight to hell while I stood there and watched. I hate that I’ve watched people I love suffer needlessly when I know the One who can comfort them, heal them, and make their lives amazing.
As I hear of people in other countries who sneak off in the night to attend church with other believers, hide their precious Bibles in secret compartments, and even get beheaded for their beliefs, it makes my excuses look pretty thin. “I just want people to like me.” I’m so thankful God forgives and empowers spiritual cowards.
But on this day I declare, no more. I will not live a life of “could’a, should’a, would’a.” I am choosing to live the rest of my days on purpose, sharing the light and love and hope of the Lord. If that makes me weird, then I want to be the weirdest one out there. I love people enough to look like a fool. What about you?
“I knew you before you were formed within your mother’s womb; before you were born I sanctified you and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.”“O Lord God,” I said, “I can’t do that! I’m far too young! I’m only a youth!”“Don’t say that,” he replied, “for you will go wherever I send you and speak whatever I tell you to. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I, the Lord, will be with you and see you through.”Then he touched my mouth and said, “See, I have put my words in your mouth!”– Jeremiah 1:5-10 (The Living Bible)
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