Judge Not?

Sharing is Caring

This weekend as I was spending some time with a few family members, someone had brought up how one of their Christian friends had been inviting them to church. Everyone else seemed in agreeance that it was great that this friend was going to church and doing their thing, but that it would be preferred if that person did not try to “push” their beliefs on other people. Here is another area of struggle for me, speaking truth and sharing my faith with those who are not really in a place of openness to hear. I need God to do a lot of work on me in this area. I did chime in and say that I felt there was a difference between “pushing beliefs on someone” and simply inviting that person to join you at church. A few of them had mentioned how they were forced to go to church growing up and that they had enough of religion pushed on them back then. Knowing some of their religious upbringing, I had also suggested that there is quite a big difference from the religious upbringings that they have encountered as opposed to having a relationship with God. I wasn’t changing any minds or any hearts in this conversation. I don’t plan to give up doing what God is asking me to do, but I do know that I will always need His help to speak wisdom.

In Mark 16:15 Jesus says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” This is just one verse of many that instructs Christians to share the gospel or good news with everyone. We share our faith as Christians for a couple of reasons. One reason, is because that is what God wants us to do. Another reason is because we care about other people. Imagine winning the Powerball at the highest value it has ever reached. You would have more money than you knew what to do with. Say your brother has recently lost his job and has a family to support and is in jeopardy of losing their home. You just won all this money (that you didn’t have to earn), you love your brother and care for him and his family. Wouldn’t you want to share some of that money with him to help keep him from financial ruin when you have more than you will ever need? If you share that with him, is it benefiting you in any way beyond the satisfaction of doing something wonderful for someone you love? This is in a small way what it is like to share the gospel with a loved one. Yes, we do it because it is what God calls us to do, but we are not doing it for ourselves. The only benefit that we get when someone accepts our invitation to church is the joy and hope that we have that they may also come to share in the “wealth” that we already have. Christians extend invitations to church and share the gospel with you because they truly care about you and just want to share with you the joy that is found in having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Not only is there joy, but there is hope for a future, for eternity spent in Heaven with Jesus. These things are just too marvelous to keep to ourselves. My hope in sharing this is that maybe someone will try to look at the situation a little differently next time they receive this type of invitation. Even if you are not ready to accept the invite, just remember that the reason this person has offered it to you, is because they care. It is not to meet a quota, or check a box on their Christian To-Do List. Our salvation is already secured in what Jesus has done and cannot be bought for us by the actions that we do. We do these things because we love Jesus and we love others.