I’m painfully shy. I failed my pre-school interview because I hid under my mom’s skirt. Meeting new people is awkward for me. Like really, really awkward. Strangers scare me. Meeting new people scares me. If you’ve met me, and you disagree, it’s because I try really, really hard not to be. Obviously, once I get to know someone, I’ll open up a bit, but my natural inclination is to keep to myself.
Knowing this about me, it’s not a huge leap to say that evangelism is not something that comes naturally to me. Some people have the natural gift of evangelism. Working Jesus into a conversation is easy for them…
I have a friend who is like this. He walks into a store to buy a new toaster and asks the sales person to recommend a few models. The sales person is like, “Sure thing sir… Our top sellers are these two over here. By the way, could you tell me a little bit about Jesus?”
And I’m standing there like, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!”
For most of us, not just shy people, that doesn’t happen. How to make the transition from regular conversation into, “Jesus loves you!” without sounding like a weirdo is not an easy task.
And not sounding like a weirdo IS important. I’ve walked away from a fair few conversations where someone has tried to share Jesus with me thinking, “Wow, if I wasn’t already a Christian, that dude definitely would not have pushed me in the right direction.” Americans tend to shy away from creepers, even if their hearts are in the right place.
Imagine you invite some new friends over for dinner that you want to share the gospel with. They compliment you on your cooking.
“Wow Julie, this is a great salad!!”
“Yeah, well, not as great as the steadfast love of our Lord!”
For most audiences, that’s probably not the best way to bring up the subject of Jesus.
The good news is, evangelism doesn’t always have to be verbal! The best form of evangelism is to live your life with uncommon goodness. Don’t just hold the door for someone or help an old lady across the street, go above and beyond.
The world is watching you and using you as model to see how Christians act. So you know that guy at the office that always steals your lunch? Instead of (rightfully) yelling at him, maybe bring an extra lunch especially for him. Show people Christ’s love through your actions. Practice uncommon speech. React uncommonly to tense situations. Be uncommonly good.
If you live with uncommon goodness, people will begin to ask questions – Why would you do that? – and that is an awesome segue into a spiritual conversation.
What are some of the ways that your actions are reflecting Christ’s love?
