"Hello, my name's Lee and I'm ashamed of the gospel."
"Hello Lee."
The area of witness has always been a great source of shame for me. I've never had great evangelistic moments and I rarely feel an overwhelming desire to share my faith. Most of my conversations with non-Christians come out of a sense of duty more than a response to what God is doing in my life.
Paul's words in Romans 1 floor me--"I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes." So is my lack of passion for the lost an issue of shame? NOOOOO! I just never seem to be in random situations where Jesus comes up. Plus my evangelistic style is "interpersonal" so those crazy on-the-spot conversational moments just aren't my thing.
In the end, my meager, fear-based excuses for not making time to meet non-Christians or for ignoring moments when I felt like I should approach someone are more about my apathy toward what God has done in and for the world.
So I'm committing this year to grow in passion and boldness toward the lost around me. Josh and I are reading Re-Imagining Evangelism together and (we hope) with some friends. I'm praying that the Spirit will awaken me to what He is doing in those around me, and I'm trying to think about how I can get outside my house and my small group of friends in order to meet people who need to talk about Jesus. I would love for you to join me in praying that God unlocks my passion to see others come to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment