Bold Faith

God has clearly convicted me of the lack of evangelism in my life.  I mean, if my life with Jesus is so great, then why am I not sharing Him and His gospel with everyone I can?  And if it's not so great, then why am I just going through the motions of a Christian life?  I could feel the Holy Spirit asking me on one of my runs recently, What does Jesus mean to you?  Is He so important that people need to know about Him?  Is He so important that the girl over there needs to know about Him?  What about strangers that you pass?  Your neighbors, your family, your friends?  Do they need to know about Him?  I answered Him with an emphatic Yes! to which He replied Then why aren't you telling them?  Well, I can tell you hands down that God has given me an earthly life more abundant than I could ever ask for or imagine (John 10:10 & Ephesians 4:20) and I know my life in heaven will be even greater than the one here.  I have never experienced more joy, peace, self-control, discipline, and love than I have when I am walking with God daily.  He is my fulfillment.  He is everything; He is my Purpose, my Shield, my Defender, my Sustainer, my Redeemer.  I would have nothing without Him and I would be nothing without Him.  Nothing could happen in this life to cause me to regret following my Savior.  So, with that said, I now have to confront this issue of not telling people about Christ; otherwise, I am a liar and a hypocrite.  

The Word is clear on the importance of evangelism, and I don't mean yelling at the top of our lungs, beating people over the head with the Bible, scaring them into salvation, and offering them ultimatums. Evangelism covers a wide spectrum and it all begins with love and building relationships.  It ranges from a smile to an encouraging word, to a giving gesture or act of kindness, to sharing your testimony with someone, or sharing Jesus and the gospel without shame.  The opportunity depends on the relationship and what God is asking you to do, but if we pray for opportunities to be Jesus to others and to share His love with others, God will faithfully and gladly open doors.  People need to know that, without Jesus, they are lost in their sin and that a loving Savior came to the world and was beaten, crucified, and rose from the grave so that everyone could be purified, made new and experience a relationship with the One true God and spend eternity worshiping Him in heaven.

Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that "wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."  Later, in Matthew chapter 13, Jesus encourages us to sow the gospel to everyone we can because so few will believe and follow.  It is up to us to share.  We cannot count on man to "figure it out" on his own because Proverbs 14:12 says that a man's way seems right to him, "but in the end it leads to death."  So, there are a lot of people who need the gospel and Christ followers are the ones who are responsible for sharing it in a dark and desperate world.

The truth is, we don't know when we will see someone for the last time, nor do we know the date and time Jesus will return to earth, so we have no time to waste.  If my God is as great as I say He is, then why am I not sharing?