Dear Friends,
Recently we were at Kaiser Hospital for a follow-up visit with my doctor. Bonnie was waiting in one of the nurse’s cubicles for the results from a test when she noticed a cross and a few other decorations that indicate the person assigned to the cubicle is a Christian.
When the male nurse who had been assisting me flashed Bonnie a “thumbs up,” she asked him if the cubicle she was in was his. “No! It belongs to someone else.”
“Are you a Christian?” She asked.
“My mother is, and my brother and sister are.”
“Allow me to suggestion something,” she said. “Mother’s Day is Sunday. Take your mother to church—She will love it.”
The nurse responded, “She would like that.”
After I came out of the exam room and we started down the hall, Bonnie turned back toward the nurse and whispered, “She really would love it.”
As we walked to the car, she asked, “Is that evangelism? I don’t do evangelism!”
Bonnie may not believe she has the gift of evangelism, but she—like all other Christians—is called to spread the good news. And then [Jesus] told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Mark 15:15 (NLT)
Normally, when people think of evangelism, the first thing that comes to mind are the great evangelists: Dwight Moody, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, T.D. Jakes, Greg Lorrie, Franklin Graham, Beth Moore, Rick Warren, and others. These powerful evangelists have had the spotlight, but millions of ordinary Christians also spread the Good News in their day-to-day interactions with others.
Evangelism can be defined as the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ by public preaching or personal witness (Adapted from the Oxford Dictionary). This week, let’s focus on the personal witness approach.
Looking back at Bonnie’s exchange with the nurse, there are three examples of spreading the good news. First, there was the evangelism of the nurse who decorated her station. Next, we have Bonnie’s words to the male nurse. Then, we have the potential conversation the young man could have with his mother and others about the annoying lady he met at the hospital.
St. Francis of Assisi purportedly said, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Anything we do that sheds a light on the Good News of Jesus Christ is evangelism.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
Sometimes we can get so caught up in the things of this world that we lose sight of the world to come. In the book, Seeing the Unseen: A Daily Dose of Eternal Perspective, we find thoughts that inspire us to do all we can to win others to Christ:
“For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven …We can and should live with the perspective that will be ours one minute after we die.” — Randy Alcorn
Scripture of the Week: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:17-18
Blessings, Your Friends in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 