Evangelism. It’s sharing the good news about Jesus. But in a society that is increasingly apathetic or hostile toward the things of God, it can be intimidating, or even scary.
A few years ago I helped organize a talk on the subject by Will Han. He’s a Buddhist monk-turned-Christian, church planter, former classmate, and friend of mine.
His main point was that before any of us can have anything sincere and meaningful to say about Jesus, we need to experience his good news personally. We need to experience—deep down—what Jesus has done for us.
The foundational text is John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Not only has he given his life for ours, but he has given us purpose and hope. When we truly experience all of this, we will want to start sharing it.
With this in mind, Will says: “Evangelism is an inevitable, helpless by-product of us encountering Jesus in our daily life.”
I’ve included a link below so you can listen to or watch his talk. But regardless of whether you tune in or not, I encourage you to think about Will’s helpful perspective. How do you encounter Jesus in your daily life? How has his love changed you or your perspective? How has his hope brought you through pain or hardship?
Knowing the answer to those questions is more important than having a hundred techniques from an evangelism toolbox.
Jesus’ grace was intentional; so is our gratitude. And that lies at the heart of evangelism.
It takes time. It takes love. It takes patience. It takes reliance on God. And it will include gaffs and mistakes. But a personal experience of God’s love is sincere, humble, beautiful, powerful, and persevering.
“Evangelism is an inevitable, helpless by-product of us encountering Jesus in our daily life.”
Notes:
—New Podcast: “Serious, self-sacrificial evangelism—a talk with Will Han.” Click here to watch or listen to Will’s talk. You can also tune in wherever you listen to podcasts. Find ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn.
–The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week and returns on June 6, 2022.
–Bible quotes are from the NIV.
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