People don’t need facts, they need to know why.
I could stop fifty people on the street and tell them all
about how Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins, and most of them would
probably walk away without thinking too much about it. I’m not saying things
like street evangelism don’t work, but what I am saying is that reaching this
world for the cause of Christ takes time.
We spend so much times developing things like the Romans
Road and other Gospel sharing tactics that we forget about the people we are
trying to reach.
When a new concept or idea comes my way, I find myself
asking, “What does this have to do with me?” As selfish as that may be, we need
to be concerned with our own well being when we are faced with a big life
decision. Why does a new relationship with Christ mean anything different?
Math was my least favorite subject until my junior year of
high school. When I looked at it, all I saw was a bunch of numbers with stupid
rules about why I could and couldn’t do things. It didn’t make any sense.
That’s why I hated it so much. I never took the time to see the fact that there
was so much under the surface. I began to appreciate the puzzle that was my
Algebra homework when I did more than just remember the little rules. With the
help of people who were far more educated than I on the subject, I developed a
deep appreciation of what math really is by asking one simple question: Why?
It’s the same thing when we’re trying to share the Gospel
with someone who has never heard it. Why does a man who lived two thousand
years ago have any impact on my life? Why do I need to be so concerned with
this Jesus guy?
Explaining the Gospel is crucial, but it’s not the only
crucial part of our duty as believers. We need to walk along side other people
and show them who Jesus is by the way we think, speak, and act. We need to
share the struggles of our own lives so the people around us can see God’s
faithfulness in our lives, and see that He really does change things.
We can’t stop at “God loves you.” We need to dig down deeper
in order to show people that He really is worth it.
