Conduit? But I don't know if I "con-do-it!"

So I was thinking to myself the last few days. I said, "Self, how do you think we're supposed to reach the world for Christ?" My self didn't have a response. Go figure! So, without an answer to cling too, I began to ponder this more and more.

If you've sat in a Baptist church in the past, oh I don't know, 40 years, you've probably heard the term "witness." To those who know, we recognize that this term means to "tell people about Jesus." After all, that makes sense, right? We should be telling people about Christ. We should be telling them how awesome He is and how much He's done for us in our lives. We should also tell them that without Him, they can't get to God. We should tell them how He loves them and died for their sin as well so that, if they'd just turn to Him, He'd forgive them and offer them a place in His kingdom. We should tell them that that void they're trying to fill can never be filled up by what they're trying to fill it with. It can only be filled by allowing Jesus to fill it up with Himself. We should be telling people about all of this. But...

I haven't found that many opportunities to do that lately. I find myself feeling more like I'm selling a product rather than talking about this personal Savior that I know and interact with constantly. Plus, I'm a little afraid of confrontation. It seems a lot of people aren't looking to be enlightened. They're looking for a fight, in which they can prove themselves right and all "Christians" wrong. So I started thinking, "Why do people want so badly to argue with us and reject the idea of learning about Christ?" Why are they so angry at us? Here's what I came up with. While sharing the Gospel is one of our chief directives, I believe the first and foremost is to be a conduit for Jesus to share His love with people.

People who don't know Jesus can easily deny His existence, thereby dismissing any "logic" we might be able to share with them. But, they can't deny our existence. They can see, hear, touch, and interact with us. So, we are the closest thing to Jesus they're going to see here on Earth. Therefore, we must be His conduit to them. We must position ourselves in a place where they can experience the love of Christ flowing through us. If we're too busy judging them by making assumptions about what they think, feel, believe, or where they've come from and where they're going, we lose the ability to truly connect with them and lay the foundation through which we can convey Christ's love to them.

By accepting them as they are, just like Christ accepted us, and showing them love and serving them, we begin to build trust. They see that we really do care about them and we're not just trying to make a sale. If you look through the Gospels, I think you'll find that Jesus was always patient, compassionate, and a loving servant to the lost. It was the supposed "religious experts" that He was hard on. These were the ones who didn't get it.

So what am I saying? I don't know. Maybe I'm just rambling. I just know how I treat telemarketers. I know exactly who's on the phone when I answer a call from an unknown caller and hear that pause and someone comes on the line and asks for a "Mr. H-A-G-A-R." It's a dead giveaway that they don't know me and that they're just trying to sell me something. I instantly tune them out and look for my first opportunity to cut them off, tell them to leave me alone, and hang up on them. (I know, not the best way to be a conduit, but I'm trying.) Don't you think it's the same for the lost people who maybe haven't been brought to that broken place in their lives yet where they are searching for God. Suddenly some stranger walks up to a person and hands him or her a track on the dangers of drug use and that turning to God is the only way to break the habit. What would you think if you were that person? I know what my friend thought when it happened to him. He was offended. First of all, because he knows the Lord; second of all, he doesn't use drugs and has family issues due to drug and alcohol use. The message was not received.

Don't we do that all the time? We make assumptions about people and their status before we even take the time to get to know them. To be a conduit, we need to reach out to them first, regardless of our initial impression (unless the initial impression is that they want to cause you harm. Use your best judgment should that happen.), and try to see how God is working on them and how we can best meet their needs, whatever that might be. I'm not saying that we need to participate in their lifestyles if they are obviously doing things that are in direct contrast to how the Word says we should be living. But, we can find a safe ground to love them on, so that we meet them where they are at and minister to them without falling into temptation ourselves.

Ok, this is really getting out of hand. So, I'll just leave you with this. How are you going to convince someone that Jesus is real and worth serious consideration if that person doesn't trust you and hasn't witnessed any of this love you're telling them that Jesus has for them? God bless you as you try and understand how God would have you interact with those whom He's put in your path. They might be closer than you think.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3