Listen and Love

Have you ever felt like you just don't have "it"? That gift to "win people for Christ"? We think some people do, but not me. "I can't make them believe." "I don't have a persuasive enough message." "I don't know a strong enough creation argument." It seems so humanly impossible to simply have a 5-10 minute conversation with someone about the good news of the Gospel, totally transform their thinking, and *poof* after our eloquent account of the Biblical narrative, they're a Christian. well, you're right....it is HUMANLY impossible, but very much possible through the trans-formative work of the Holy Spirit. There is something that we do all have control over and hold responsibility for; a person's HEARING of the Gospel.

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

- Romans 10:17 (ESV)

Okay... but people still fine evangelism unbelievable. May I suggest it is because we forget about Paul's words in Colossians?

"5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

- Colossians 4:5,6

People are not projects. They aren't simply a number to add to the list of souls you've won. THEY ARE NOT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS! Have you ever been on the other end of an evangelistic project? Jehovah's Witness of Mormon at your door. You don't often feel loved; you proabably feel used, like a pressure, commission based, sale. Paul says, "know how to answer everyone." The Gospel is a singular message with a non-singular delivery. This means that the Gospel itself is unchanging, but the way we approach sharing it will be different person to person and requires wisdom, and wisdon expresses knowledge through understanding. In order to understand someone, we must HEAR them. We need to LISTEN. We need to listen and love. 

We live in a culture that runs at the speed of light. It's always how fast can I get this done so that I can achieve maximum productivity for the day. "Time is money!"... well, love is efficient. It slows down long enough to understand people and their objections to the Gospel. It's not about memorizing or rehearsing facts. We need to see evangelism as a long-term endeavour. While sharing hope and the good news of the Gospel, be sure to be doing so in love and grace for each person. When we start living a lifestyle of loving others, we will see opportunities to share with others.