Evangelism and the Glory of....?
Some years ago I was standing at a street corner in downtown Washington D.C. I was back from Africa and was meeting up with a colleague and some of his friends for dinner. As I waited for my friend to arrive I spotted a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk begging for money. This is common in downtown Washington D.C. He had the grubby clothes, he was unwashed, and he held a tattered cardboard sign with “Hungry – Please Help” handwritten on it with a black marker.
I remember getting excited about spotting this homeless guy. It was the perfect opportunity for a little contact evangelism, I thought. I walked over to the fellow and struck up a conversation. He was happy to have someone to talk to and we visited about his pathetic life and how he wound up in his situation. I looked for the right place to interject a little gospel and found it. I told him about Jesus and he listened politely. He assured me when I was finished that he believed and I congratulated him and gave him some money.
I was filled with the delicious joy of self righteousness. I was a good Christian! I was fulfilling the Great Commission and surely at that moment, God was looking down from Heaven at me and saying, “Now there’s a good one. That Jason sure is a good one.”
My friend arrived and I went with him and his friends to the restaurant. I spent the next several hours with them in conversation that touched on a number of topics including politics, relationships, careers, and food. We talked about our families and the schools we went to and how successful we are at our jobs. We played the typical male game of one-up-manship, outdoing each other with entertaining stories about our lives, embellishing each story bit by bit to make them more interesting than the last one.
Closing time came and we all went our separate ways. I fell asleep that night pleased with myself at what a faithful and obedient servant of Christ I was.
It didn’t occur to me until years later that I never once considered sharing the gospel with any of my dinner companions. I was quick to tell the homeless man about my hope in Christ but the thought of speaking about such a thing to my colleagues scared me to death.
Even in my attempt to fulfill Christ’s command I am depraved.
I was quick to witness to the person who I feel better than.
I am scared to death to witness to the person who I think is better than me.
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
I remember getting excited about spotting this homeless guy. It was the perfect opportunity for a little contact evangelism, I thought. I walked over to the fellow and struck up a conversation. He was happy to have someone to talk to and we visited about his pathetic life and how he wound up in his situation. I looked for the right place to interject a little gospel and found it. I told him about Jesus and he listened politely. He assured me when I was finished that he believed and I congratulated him and gave him some money.
I was filled with the delicious joy of self righteousness. I was a good Christian! I was fulfilling the Great Commission and surely at that moment, God was looking down from Heaven at me and saying, “Now there’s a good one. That Jason sure is a good one.”
My friend arrived and I went with him and his friends to the restaurant. I spent the next several hours with them in conversation that touched on a number of topics including politics, relationships, careers, and food. We talked about our families and the schools we went to and how successful we are at our jobs. We played the typical male game of one-up-manship, outdoing each other with entertaining stories about our lives, embellishing each story bit by bit to make them more interesting than the last one.
Closing time came and we all went our separate ways. I fell asleep that night pleased with myself at what a faithful and obedient servant of Christ I was.
It didn’t occur to me until years later that I never once considered sharing the gospel with any of my dinner companions. I was quick to tell the homeless man about my hope in Christ but the thought of speaking about such a thing to my colleagues scared me to death.
Even in my attempt to fulfill Christ’s command I am depraved.
I was quick to witness to the person who I feel better than.
I am scared to death to witness to the person who I think is better than me.
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
posted by The Lazarus Commission | 10:23 PM
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