7/25/12 Jose, about 35
"I have some
relatives who are Christians too, but you don't talk to me like they do. You listen to what I have to say, and you're
respectful. What you have to say makes a
lot of sense. I've never heard it
explained that way before." That
was part of the response I got from Jose, a man I witnessed to outside a store
today. I am of the opinion that if I
were to speak with anger (or judgment, condemnation, etc.) people would remember
my anger rather than what I actually said.
We live in a culture where the most well-quoted Bible verse is "Do
not judge, and you will not be judged". Jesus said this to his disciples in the Sermon
on the Mount. (Luke 6) He went on to say "Do not condemn, and you will not
be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to
you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be
poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Do these verses only refer to God's response
to us according to how we treat other people?
Could they also refer to how those other people will respond to us themselves? The funny thing about Jose was, I had just
shared some rather hard truths; I wasn't just "tickling itching
ears". Using the law to help people
see their need for Jesus may seem judgmental, but it actually has a way of
appealing to people's common sense and their God-given conscience. Simply telling people they "need Jesus"
without bothering to help them see why implies to them that we are indeed
judging them. If we are going to be bold
enough to share the Gospel with either strangers or friends, lets share the
whole truth, both law and grace. As
Christians we aren't simply trying to win friends for ourselves by telling
people only what they want to hear; we are trying to win future brothers and
sisters for Christ! Let's tell them
everything they need to hear, but let's not let the way we say it get in the
way.
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