Evangelism

I love that God gives us experiences and "God moments"-- and then gives us opportunities to share them with others to edify and build up the Body. A few weeks ago one of the pastors at my church asked me if I would be willing to share my testimony about my experience with GotLife (an evangelism class) with the church (2/19). I said yes.

Since then, I've been thinking and praying about what I should share. I feel like it's easy to make "evangelism" into some great big nebulous oooaahh-thing. Really, it's not, or at least, it shouldn't be. Doug is always talking about how we should wake up in the mornings and remind ourselves of the Gospel-- of daily reorientating ourselves to the point of our justification.

We need to daily remind ourselves that God is perfect and flawless, and that He created everything. And that we, as people, are lawless. We have sinned against God, broken His commands and set our lives (from birth) opposed to Him as His enemies. But because of His love for us, He sent Christ-- God incarnate-- to live the life we couldn't live, and drink the wrath of God and punishment for our sin that we couldn't bear. If I choose to accept this, it accomplishes two things; first, it shows the great justice and love of God. God could not leave the guilty (me) unpunished; so Christ took the punishment I earned. Secondly, through accepting Christ's payment for my sin, I am given (freely!) not only forgiveness, but also the righteousness of Christ.

The more I tell this to myself (and have it told to me), the more it is on my mind and in my heart. The more it is in my mind and on my heart, the more likely I am to speak it. It should be an outgrowth of an internal realization. The more I focus on Jesus, the cross, and the salvation that has been freely given to me, the more joy I will have and the greater my desire to share it will be. Thus, evangelism becomes more than a two-month program or a "training class" or fill-in-the-blank. Instead, it truly does become a lifestyle. It is about looking for opportunities to speak the name of Jesus in every conversation. It is about looking for ways to invest in people who have no knowledge of God. It is about giving, and serving, and loving in the name of Christ those who could never repay you. It is about the Holy Spirit compelling you to do these things and about God getting the glory.

In small group, Laurie brought up a great point from one of the breakout speakers at 20/20-- that God's intention for man has always been to create more worshippers of Himself-- from Adam and Eve's "be fruitful and multiply" to the Great Commission's "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations..." That has always been God's "Plan A." God does all the work to bring hearts to Himself and to save the lost, but we are given the distinct privilege of being a part of God's plan to take His Name to the nations.

So, where does that leave GotLife? I still think it is awesome. No, it's not the end-all-be-all of evangelism. Of course not. But if God and the message of the Gospel is impressed daily on my heart, why wouldn't I want another opportunity to share with others about Him? Why wouldn't I want to invite people into a community of people (the church) to learn about God, worship Him, and serve side-by-side with others?

I love my church. It is not perfect, but we love God and we love each other. And while we don't always do that perfectly, there is grace where we fall short. I want for my life to be one that is characterized by being vocal about my Family and my Father.