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Every Christian has a clear mission. But putting it into practice in everyday life is often difficult. Do you take every opportunity to proclaim the Gospel? Certainly, there are situations where we have failed to do so. There are several reasons that often prevent us from sharing the Good News.
Why don't we evangelize?
Jesus' Great Commission, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15), is known to all Christians, and everyone knows deep down that it is the will of our Savior Jesus Christ to make the gospel known to all people. And yet, this commandment of our Lord Jesus is probably the one we neglect the most. We don't feel called to it; we see our shortcomings and think that there are people who can do it better and who can dedicate themselves more intensively to evangelism.
I personally see another reason why we are not actively involved in spreading the Gospel: Our failures in conversations with other people about faith in Jesus Christ.
I remember a taxi ride home from the train station. I had about 45 minutes to chat with the driver. After a greeting and a few introductory stories, I wanted to steer the conversation toward faith in Jesus Christ. But the driver was extremely resistant to the topic, and I felt uneasy for the rest of the ride. Such experiences have led me to avoid conversations with non-believers on other occasions.
This can be a reason to let our witness in this world fall silent. But that is the wrong path and does not give us the right to disobey God's will. Jesus said to His disciples, "I will make you fishers of men." A fisherman who doesn't catch a single fish on a fishing trip won't give up his passion because of it. He will certainly put even more energy and effort into it next time to do better and be more successful with his catch.
I think it's very important for us Christians to understand that a battle is taking place in the unseen world, a battle for the salvation of souls who, without Jesus, are condemned to eternal damnation. The adversary tries with all his might to prevent human souls from being saved. God wants them not to be lost and to be able to have a life of abundance and joy. That's why Jesus spoke of His disciples asking the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the harvest field who were up to the task and could carry it out with determination and perseverance.
“And Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and affliction among the people. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and neglected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” (Matthew 9:35-38)
All Christians are familiar with Jesus' Great Commission. And yet, this commandment of our Lord Jesus is probably the one we neglect the most.
Nothing is impossible for God.
People without God live in great unrest. Very often, life resembles hell more than a life truly worth living. Yet God loves these people and wants to help them and grant them eternal life. Sometimes, a person's outward appearance deters us from speaking with them about faith. We frequently encounter people who are tattooed or otherwise don't conform to our expectations. But God wants to offer His grace to all people, to save them, and to make them useful for His service, no matter how broken, pitiable, or unpleasant they may seem to us.
When I was recently in Yerevan for a teachers' conference, one of the bishops of the Armenian Brotherhood, Brother Pavel, invited us to lunch. As we sat together at the table, I asked him to tell us how he had converted. He then told me about the life he had led before his conversion. He didn't go into details, but he told us that he had led such a godless and wicked life that his own father wanted to kill him. One day, he hanged him in a room in their house, locked the door, and went to work. After he left, his mother called the neighbors for help. Together, they broke down the door and rescued him from the noose.
Not long after, he converted. He didn't tell us exactly how it happened, but God saved him and made him His child. He then fasted and prayed for twenty years until his parents and the rest of his family also came to faith. Today, he is one of the leading bishops of the Armenian Brotherhood and carries out a blessed ministry in their country.
Paul was a persecutor of the church. He imprisoned Christians and was responsible for the deaths of believers. From a purely human perspective, no one had the courage or interest to tell this man about Jesus. But God had a different plan. He wanted to save him and make him a living witness to His kingdom. An Ananias had to go to him, lay his hands on him, pray for him, and thus open his inner and outer eyes to the ministry God had prepared for him.
We judge our fellow human beings with our own eyes and often can't imagine that God can make something worthwhile out of their lives. But God sees them differently and sometimes calls those in whom we would never have seen a chance. God saves them and makes them useful tools and workers in His vineyard.
In our church council, we have a brother who led a life of crime years ago. He was a drug addict and had to serve prison sentences for his offenses. But God pursued him. People told him about Jesus and invited him to Christian therapy to be saved. God freed him and gave him a new life, which he now uses to be a witness to others and to invite them to Jesus Christ and His salvation.
Sometimes all it takes is a simple invitation. A member of our congregation was invited to church by a colleague. He came to the service with his wife, and God spoke to him. Both were converted and have been active members of the congregation for many years, zealously serving the Lord. Thousands of similar testimonies could be shared here.
We see our fellow human beings with our own eyes and often cannot imagine that God can make something useful out of their lives.
Follow God's commandment
God sometimes chooses people as His servants, people whose grace and love leave us in awe. But He seeks those who are willing to be His witnesses, to proclaim the Gospel to lost souls, and to invite them to salvation. Therefore, every Christian should go through this world with such a longing, seizing every opportunity to lead souls to Jesus. Even shopping can offer opportunities to be a witness and invite people to the church. Yet, often, over time, such indifference to the lost creeps into the lives of Christians that we sin before God because we no longer feel any love for the lost souls of those on their way to eternal damnation.
God wants to awaken us, to shake us up, so that we remember His will and actively participate in spreading the Gospel. God has great grace, love, and patience with the lost. It is no coincidence that the hymn "Amazing Grace" is probably the most well-known Christian hymn worldwide. Because it was written by such a terrible sinner, whom hardly any Christian would have considered a candidate for heaven. And yet, God saved him and made him a great witness to His grace in the world. May God help us not to dismiss anyone as an impossible case, but to be courageous witnesses and continue to proclaim the Gospel, even to people who at first glance appear to be hopeless cases. May God bless everyone in this and give us strength and courage to obey His commandments.
“Those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the word of the gospel” (Acts 8:4).
Ernst Fischer
Municipality of Cloppenburg