So then it depends not on human will, but on God

             Something that’s been on my mind lately is this feeling that Christians are approaching the Gospel “wrong?” The whole premise of the Christian faith is love, but when observing my own actions and the actions of other Christians, love seems to be so absent. Instead, it has been replaced by greed, self-ambition, striving, and force.

Whenever we meet a new person that isn’t a believer, we quickly make it our “mission” to shove as much Christianity in their face as possible. Their salvation somehow becomes our responsibility. I’m not writing this to condemn or as an outsider looking in and nitpicking all of the things that I think Christians are doing wrong, but as a perpetrator myself. I’m writing it as someone who has come to the realization that I do all of these things myself.

Honestly, I don’t even know where to start with this next thought but let me just try to make some sense. I think that sometimes we as Christians get overzealous. We want something so bad, that we end up forcing it too much and it puts un-needed pressure on a situation. Yes, I’m talking about sharing the Gospel. And if this doesn’t sit well with you that’s totally fine, because it’s just a humble opinion of mine.

Let me use a personal example to help you understand what I mean. When I meet a new friend, and they seem like a nice person, I oftentimes just assume they are a Christian. But upon hearing that they aren’t, this switch flips in my mind and I no longer see them as a child of God, but as a prize to be won over. My focus is no longer on the friendship for the sake of the friendship, but my mentality has switched to let me stay in this friendship for the sake of the “Gospel” aka the satisfaction of knowing I shared Jesus with this person that NEVER would’ve know about Him apart from me. (That last sentence was meant to be taken extremely sarcastically and as conceited as it sounds, that’s my mindset at times.) But, as you can probably already tell, there are so many things wrong with the previous example.

1.) God does NOT need me to save that person and I can guarantee you that God could reveal Himself to that person had they been friends with me or not.

             2.) Hearing that they aren’t a Christian shouldn’t be what changes the game. If I need to alter the way I act based on circumstances, then I need Jesus just as much as that person.

We are called to share the Gospel. Not force, push, or distort the beautiful message of the Gospel. When I hear the word share, I think of two kids sharing toys and the innocence that is associated with that. I don’t think of deception and condemnation or scare tactics. When I hear the word share, I think of a simple presentation done in love, and not a forced decision. Because when it comes down to it, we don’t decide or change anything. God, the author and finisher of our faith, is the one who changes hearts and lives. We are simply called to share His message in obedience and I think that’s the part we fail to remember.

The question that comes to mind after all of this is how can an imperfect person present the Gospel? Well, the Gospel is the greatest love story ever written so what better way to show it to others then with love.

 

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Romans 9:14-17