May 1, 2025
Beloved of God,
As individuals who follow Jesus Christ, we do not belong to ourselves, but to the Son of God and those He would have us serve in His name.
As a community which follows Jesus, we do not belong to ourselves either, but to its Head and those He would have us serve in His name.
How better could we serve those around us who are living apart from a conscious connection with God than by seeking to assist them in finding their way into such a connection?
If denying ourselves, taking up our own cross and following His example – the three marks by which Jesus identified a true disciple of His (e.g., in Matthew 16:24) – mean anything, they mean that, in thinking about our own spiritual life, we cannot be thinking just about ourselves.
The authentic spiritual life always involves thinking about at least some others, reaching out to them, welcoming them into our circle of concern and friendship, and serving them as we are able.
All this is to say that evangelism is essential to living in faithfulness to Jesus.
The best thing we can ever share with someone we care about is the best Person in our life.
To share Him with someone is to convey something of Him in whatever way that person can take in, comprehend and feel.
To figure out how to convey something of Him, to a particular person in the way they can best receive it, requires attentiveness, sensitivity, prayerfulness, thoughtfulness and patience.
Yet, some of what is required does not require “figuring it out”, for it is already clear. Almost no one would object to our being 1) invitational, 2) self-sacrificial or 3) forthright.
To be invitational is to try to include them in activities that we find meaningful and enjoyable – and that we have good reason to think they might find meaningful and enjoyable. That might be to come to worship with us, to participate in a fun fellowship event with us, or to have coffee and conversation with us.
Being invitational only becomes objectionable if the other person makes it clear they want us to stop inviting them and we keep doing it. Being invitational should stop long before it devolves into being badgering.
To be self-sacrificial is to accept without protest or complaint when we are invitational and are turned down (even if we kindly reach out only to have our hand slapped away or to be given the cold shoulder). To care about someone is to be willing to be hurt by them. That’s why sometimes doing good can feel bad!
To be forthright is to be transparent – and to share (without going on too long about it) about how we have been blessed by God. For example, if someone asks how our weekend went (and genuinely wants to know) and we had a great time at church, we should not censor ourselves and suppress any mention of it. A brief word will suffice – if we watch for their response. If they break eye-contact or change the subject, we drop the subject. If they express some interest in hearing some more, we give a little more detail – and watch again for their response.
The Bible says that to grow in our faith we do well to look to Jesus, “the author and finishers of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Let us keep reminding ourselves, however, that to look to Jesus is to look out through His eyes to others – to folks He loves as much as He loves us, and hopes we will serve for Him!
Please pray with us for a blessed May!
Warmly in Christ,
Pastors Rob & Adele Langworthy
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