So what am I talking about? How are you being lazy and selfish?
By not doing something on purpose, on a regular basis, to spread the Good News. That's how.
This doesn't apply to everyone of course. Non-believers would have no reason to spread the Good News. And most pastors do it regularly, thank goodness. But how about the rest of us who are Christians, but who aren't in full-time ministry jobs?
When was the last time you talked to someone about Jesus, who he is, what he did, why he did it, and how they could benefit from it? More specifically, when was the last time you talked about the Good News with a non-believer?
If the answer is "never" or "it has been a while" then I'm talking to you! That's right, I'm calling you lazy and selfish.
What other reason could you give for not sharing the greatest gift with other people who haven't received it yet? The only other explanation is that you're scared. And if that's the case,... fine. I can understand that. I am too! But so what?
First of all, we shouldn't be afraid as Christians to share the the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. What's the worst that could happen if we did? The other person may reject us and tell us they aren't interested. They may be totally against the idea and tell us not to even bring it up with them ever again. They may even make fun of us for believing that there's some magical invisible guy in the sky who grants wishes to some people but lets horrible things happen to other people. (I've heard God described like that by atheists before...)
Or... they may actually listen and want to know more.
Now I'm not suggesting that you go set up a soap box on the corner with a sign around your neck and bible in your hand, shouting verses from the bible. Please don't do anything like that! It does more harm than good.
What I am suggesting is that you almost definitely know people who are not Christians. If there are any of them that you haven't shared the Good News with, then you should - soon. If they aren't receptive to hearing it, that's okay. You're still doing your part and God will bless you for it. And if they make fun of you or treat you differently afterwards, then at least you know that's probably not the best person for you to spend a lot of time with in the future. And you obviously shouldn't put any stock in their opinion of you either.
It doesn't have to be awkward either. You shouldn't just go up to someone you know and be like "hey John, do you know Jesus?" That kind of approach will just put them on the defense or something. Just pay attention to what's happening in the lives of the people you know, and how they're feeling. And pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He will give you a little nudge when you're in a situation where God wants you to do something for someone, which could just be as simple as sharing the Good News with them.
It'll probably happen when you're already talking about something. Maybe you're talking about what happened over the weekend, and you bring up that you went to church and heard a great message and they seem interested in hearing more. Or maybe you'll be listening to your friend talk about an issue in their lives they aren't happy with or a problem they're experiencing, and you could give them some biblical advice. If they receive it well, then it would make sense to steer the conversation toward whether or not they know much about the bible or Jesus and what he did and why.
And you don't have to be a bible scholar either. Keep it simple. I have a feeling that very few people come to Christ after being lectured about the bloodline of Jesus proving that he's the Messiah, or after debating the book of Revelations. Save the deep stuff for later, and stick to the basics - the bottom line that:
- Jesus is the son of God, and He is perfect in every way.
- People messed up God's perfect plan for us by doing something against what God wanted (we call this sin), which damaged the relationship between God and man.
- But because he loves us so much, he wanted to make a way for us to get in right relationship with Him again.
- So he came down from Heaven and lived a sinless life as a man. While he was here, he helped thousands of people by healing them and teaching them about the word of God. And he ultimately was killed in a brutal and humiliating way by people who didn't believe him.
- He could have stopped them, but he willingly let it happen so that he could take the punishment that we all deserve, so that we wouldn't have to.
- He sacrificed himself to save all of us, and provide a way for us to restore our relationship with God once again. And God raised him from the dead to prove that he had conquered both sin and death, and was brought back up to Heaven to rule as the Lord over everyone and everything.
- All we have to do to be saved along with him, and restore our relationship with God is believe that He is the Son of God, that he came to earth and lived a sinless life, he died for us and was raised back to life and brought to Heaven to be ruler over everything and everyone. And if we accept him as our Lord, the ruler of our lives, then he will wipe away all of our sins forever, restore our relationship with God and save us from the punishment we deserve so that we will spend eternity in Heaven with him when our lives here on Earth are over.
That's a simple, but adequate way of sharing the Good News with someone. Simply saying something like "Jesus came to save us all from sin and death, so you should believe in him so you can be saved" isn't enough. It's true yes, but it isn't adequate. It doesn't explain who he is or why he did what he did, which are very important to understand if anyone is really going to come to Christ in a genuine way.
It's simple. You have nothing to lose except for a little bit of time (which would still be well-spent since you'd at least be planting a seed), and possibly a little blow to the ego (which most of us could use anyway and we shouldn't be afraid of). And you could be the one to help literally change someone's life for the better. And we've been told by our Lord to do it (Mark 16:15)! Plus you'll feel good about it, and you'll be pleasing God no matter how the person responds.
So the bottom line is, if you have relationships with people who aren't Christians, and you haven't talked to them about who he is, what he did, why he did it, and how they can benefit from it - then you're being lazy and selfish.
Quit being lazy and selfish!
