While many have shown an interest in helping out, I know others are struggling with the desire to go and knock on doors. I can understand that struggle. I am certain that knocking on doors is not anyone’s preferred way to share the Gospel. But I am also certain that God is going to bless our teams with wonderful opportunities to share Jesus Christ with our neighbors.
My prayer is that God will break us all out of our comfort zones and place us in situations where we cannot help but to talk to people about Jesus. Wrestling with the feelings of a comfortable Christianity, Nicole Winkel, writing for Christianity Today, attempts to answer the question, “Have we become too comfortable to share the Gospel?” I believe her observations correctly address the feelings of many of us:
The Christian life is great, but at some point in our lives we might reach a point where our own comfort hinders us from looking at the needs of others.
I have to admit that I have become lazy over the years. Sadly I am not referring to my work. Much worse, I am talking about my attitude as a Christian.
It is easy to find yourself in a safe haven, especially if you are mainly surrounded by other Christians. Yet the real challenge begins when we step out of our comfort zone. For me, however, it does not stop there. The majority of us work or are friends with people, who do not share our belief. We might also, for example in my case, not have had a Christian upbringing. The problem I find myself faced with now is not that those around me do not know that I am a believer or that I find it difficult to tell them about it.
Since I became a Christian when I was 17, most people have accepted my faith and were interested in my lifestyle. But what happens, when you go a step further and actually do what God said in Matthew 28:19-20?
"[Go] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (NIV)
What I noted is that if people were curious about my faith, it lasted as long as I did not make any attempt "to evangelise" them. But is that not what God asked us to do in the above-mentioned verses?
Whenever I meet new people, I will let them know that I am a committed Christian. But what does this actually mean? Can our level of commitment be measured by the frequency of our prayers, how often we read the Bible, go to church and attend prayer meetings? I believe that being committed as a Christian does not only entail that you take responsibility of your own life, but that you also let others know about what Jesus did for them 2013 years ago.
I have come to realize that I have turned into a selfish Christian, which actually is an oxymoron in itself - being a Christian and being self-centered at the same time. How is that supposed to work? I am saved, so I am good, but what about the millions of others, who do not know God. What will happen to them? It makes me cringe that I cannot even remember the last time I shared the Gospel with someone. There are no excuses for that, not a busy work schedule, my private life, or the fear of rejection.
May God break us out of our comfortable and lazy inactivity in the area of evangelism and bless us with a fire-hot passion to win souls!
- Bro. Dave
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