The loud preacher shouting on the streets, false Gospels proclaiming that the Lord will bless you abundantly financially, you’ll never get sick, and everything in your life will always go well or else you’ve wronged the Lord, framing the Gospel as a way only to gain and quietly leaving out all the things you must surrender; how often do people try and sell the Gospel.
In Puerto, there’s a whole lot of drugs, in fact every couple of feet someone is walking up to me with a vast array of things they shove in my face to try to get me to buy. It’s funny, sad, very awkward, but not once does it make me more inclined to buy their product. I think a lot of the time we try and sell the Gospel like this, shoving it down people’s throats. But, when we look to the Gospels and the ministry of Jesus and His disciples, it was relational.
He asks a whole lotta questions and rather than speaking at people, he engages with them. He meets people right where they are, let’s people wrestle with what they’ve heard, and let’s them decide who they think He is.
One example of this is in Matthew 16:15, when Jesus poses this question to Peter, “But what about you? He asked. “Who do you say I am” (NIV). Jesus didn’t go up to Peter and say “I am the Messiah, get on board now or you’re a lost cause”. People are yearning for the Gospel. Everyone of us is made in the image of God and are made to abide in Him. He’s the missing piece that everyone is searching for. We don’t need to sell it, the Gospel is perfect just the way it is. We don’t need to distort it or make it a sales pitch. Our ministry isn’t about getting numbers, but seeking out the one from the ninety nine. We don’t need to be the loudest person in the room, we just need to rest in Him,live out truth both in words and action, and let the Lord do the rest. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” ( John 13:35 NIV). Go and love!! Engage!! Build relationships!! Ask questions!! Make yourself uncomfortable!! Talk to people that don’t think like you!! Even people you don’t like!! That’s what walking like a disciple looks like. Let’s be people of pursuit.
