Every Time You Go Out...
28 Aug 2019Every time you get out to spend some time with the lost people, it is important work.
It might feel like nothing much is happening. Maybe there wasn’t a really fantastic opportunity to share, or maybe your interactions were pretty awkward. “Is this really worth my time?” You might be asking.
Really, it is. There’s so much important stuff going on.
You’re reminded of Jesus’ heart for the people.
I constantly forget about lost people, and my heart constantly grows cold and apathetic. I find I need almost daily contact with them to keep my heart soft and keep my life and calling in perspective. Even if it’s just hearing one story from one person and getting a tiny hint of Jesus’ empathy and compassion for them, that’s priceless.
You’re getting a chance to hear and interact with the Father
God is very interested in reaching the lost, and if you put yourself out among them, you might hear or feel his prompting towards someone who is particularly in need of a witness. Moments like these are really special. It’s like being a little kid who gets to go to work with his dad.
You’re learning the language and culture
It may seem insignificant to have them slowly explain another joke, or learn one or two words you didn’t know before. But this is really crucial stuff. Bit by bit, you’re breaking down the wall between you so that you can understand them, clearly show them Christ, and eventually teach them to trust and follow him.
You’re learning to communicate his love and truth in a whole new channel of language and culture, and this takes looooots of time. You’re building a new life to be constantly used by him in witness, and even the most mundane and seemingly unspiritual interactions are important building blocks towards this goal.
You’re being a witness
Jesus sent his disciples out to be witnesses of him, to be people who told people who Jesus was and all that happened. And now this job gets handed down to us. The hugeness of this is beyond what we can fathom. After all, these words we carry from him can have an eternal impact.
I’ve been amazed to see how just a few words from a gospel worker can totally ruin someone’s life. I met someone who started his journey to faith because one foreigner (who he thought was crazy) simply smiled and answered a quick question about knowing he’s going to heaven. I also heard about someone who found some believers and wanted to give his life to Christ. He explained that 20 years ago he had one conversation with a couple of foreigners on the street, and God had never left him alone ever since.
Sometimes we can be tempted to belittle these chances to say something about him, thinking that they can’t make that much of a difference. We can feel like we’re just dropping a few tiny seeds into giant rocks, and they’ll never sprout. But just one of these seeds has the power to crack and uproot the world’s biggest mountain, leaving a massive orchard in its place.
Besides, even if people choose not to believe and we see no fruit, just the act of witness itself must be extremely valuable and pleasing to God.
You’re worshipping Jesus with your time
If you go out and you didn’t get to say anything about him that day, just getting out there and wasting your time for Jesus is a beautiful act of worship. If you were wandering the streets and parks for six hours, aching for some opportunity to let someone know about who Jesus really was, that’s beautiful and it must please the Father’s heart.
Others around you (even leaders) might look down on your attempts to simply get out there and be a witness. They might even rebuke you like the people rebuked the woman anointing Jesus in Luke 14:
“Why this waste of your time? You could have used all that time for something more effective! You should have done ‘x’ or ‘y’!”
To which Jesus might say:
“Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.”