Threads of People: Loving Your People to Jesus
Every one of us has people we need in our lives and people who need us. God has placed people in your life to help as you carry out the missions, callings, and assignments of your life. He has given you people who need you to love them and help them feel their way to God.
You have been given the opportunity to love people by name in a way other people may not have access to. The podcast is one way I love people. But there is a barrier to the amount of impact I'll ever have on your life because I don’t interact with you face-to-face.
The five people who have changed my life the most are not famous. Michelle Bose discipled me in college and taught me to love my Bible and share Jesus with the people I lived with. She was holding my hand and face-to-face with me. She was calling out things and places where I was arrogant and teaching me to be humbler and kinder.
My mother taught me to serve and prioritize people as if they were the president of the United States. She taught me the value of beauty and kindness. The five people who have most changed your life are probably not famous either. So, we've got to realize that the most life-changing ministry isn't happening on podcasts, stages, or pulpits.
Most of the life-changing ministry is happening in living rooms, around kitchen tables, on college dorm room carpets, and in workplaces over lunch. I often hear people say their work doesn't matter, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. You’re at the frontlines of ministry. You are loving your neighbors, coworkers, and friends to Jesus.
You don't need to know the bible front-to-back to be an evangelist. You just need a story of God changing your life and Jesus interrupting your sin to build a relationship with you. Then you can go and tell people about God. We live in a day when relationship trumps all. You probably have relationships you've been in for years, and you've never brought up spiritual conversations. You can take that step today.
The power of conversation
You can’t tear into your neighbor's house to share Jesus with them when you’ve never built a relationship with them. Start with a coffee or dinner to get to know each other. You can transition the relationship and conversation without being weird. Show genuine interest in their lives and then bring up the topic of spirituality.
Try a simple conversation starter: “I know we've been friends for a long time. But faith is a huge part of my life, and I don't know if we've ever talked about it. Do you have a Faith?”
If you've been friends with somebody or working beside them for a long time, you can bring up the topic like that. This same conversation could apply to your neighbors. In most cases, they will feel so glad you asked, and they'll start to tell you about it. Have grace for where they are, and don’t be afraid to share where you are.
For strangers, you can offer prayer. A simple “How can I pray for you?” goes a long way for someone who’s going through a difficult time.
The simple questions you can ask the people in your life can facilitate great conversations around spirituality and Jesus. So, lay out the people within the places you frequent. Write their names and begin to pray for them. Look for opportunities to have conversations with them.
Feel the weight of our eternity
I want you to feel the weight of the reality that we’re not temporary.
Only two things last forever – the word of God and the people of God.
Every person will last forever, whether that’s in heaven or hell. And so, the weight of that is overwhelming.
But ultimately, it's heaven that compels us. For the last 2000 years, Orthodox Christianity has believed that there is a heaven and hell and that every human will live forever in one of those two places. The way to heaven is to trust in the blood of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins.
If there's a chance that every soul we know could go to hell, then we do the best we can to show them God. We recognize that God is powerful and able to save, and we act by that faith. Continue to pray for even the person you think would never follow God. Believe that God is in the business of saving and rescuing souls, but He allows us to be part of that story.
At the end of the day, we're set in temporary places to do eternal things. What you're good at is supposed to merely give you a path to share God with different people. Our friends, neighbors, and even clerks at the grocery store are all people God has put in our path so that they may feel their way to Him. We are the ambassadors of Christ, whose role it is to share the love and deeds of Christ in the lives of people around us.
We overcomplicate our lives trying to find our exact career, spouse, and life. We work so hard to build our lives when the reality is that God has allowed us to be in every place we find ourselves so people may feel their way to Him.
This is about eternal glory. It’s about heaven and hell. This is about making our short lives count for eternity. Realizing this helps you love the people in your life, even when they can't love you back or are in the midst of sin, struggle, and decisions.
Feeling the weight of glory changes the way you view friendship and the people in your life. And so, it matters. I know many of you are praying for the salvation of people you love, whether it be your parents, children, neighbors, or friends. And I feel that weight with you today.
Remember, freedom is contagious
Know that God saves. Do not stop praying or sharing about your life and faith with your people. This is why I care so much about being free.
Freedom is contagious.
If God is working in your life and you're experiencing freedom in your emotional, relational, and spiritual life, then you'll talk about that. You will naturally become a great evangelist because you have a compelling life.
God has the power to change our lives.
He has the power to make us joyful and full of self-control. So, my prayer is that you would be full and free. Ultimately, that freedom will be so contagious and other people will want it. I pray that other people would want to know about your God and hear about your story.
Be as real as you can with your people.
It's probably the greatest evangelism tool I could give you. Be honest about what you’re going through, and then share the hope. Show your people how God is rescuing you today. Sharing that hope with people will change their lives. You’ll find people who've been wrestling with the same thing and show them how God helps you.
People become so dear to us that we're sharing the gospel with them. We share meals with them and hold them up when they go through something difficult. We are loving them to God. But some of us have to get over judging people so that we can actually love them.
Not many people have ever come to God through hate or judgment. That’s certainly not how Jesus did it. He met their needs, gave them a meal, healed their sight, sat with them, and showed them acceptance in a world that was hateful of them.
He loved them in front of people because acceptance is what they needed. He saw their greatest emotional or physical need and met it first. Then He would call them to more. By the time Jesus said, “Follow me” or “Leave your sin,” they were ready to hear it because He had blessed them.
So, let us love people to Jesus. Let us be so compelling in our love for people that they want our God.
