Making Christians?
Religion, they say, is a "sensitive issue". Why must you try to convert me? What makes you think your way is the only way?
It's funny really, yesterday I was talking to a friend about some difficulties she's facing in her personal & working life, and she said, "I guess it's easier for you guys because you've got your religion. When you have problems, you can pray to your God. But when I have problems, I just figure out ways to solve them on my own."
She continued, "I guess most people tend to turn to religion when they face difficulties. It's weird, though, I've never seen the need for religion and even now, with all these issues I'm facing, I still don't think I need it (religion)."
In some ways she's right; having "religion" helps. Well, it's not so much the "religion" but the knowledge that God cares, that I'm not alone, that He's with me and He's still in control - even if it looks like He isn't. *grin*
And this is what I want others to know as well.
You see, I believe that my God is relevant in the here and now. The way some Christians talk, you'd think the only "benefit" of converting is to escape Hell and eternal damnation. Sometimes I think they scare people into accepting their message. *shudders*
But in high school, a classmate actually said to me, "Why should I care about what happens when I die? For all I know, there might not be such a thing as life after death anyway!"
Good point :)
There's so much more to Christianity than just "getting saved", and yet so many Christians seem to miss the point. The fact is that God loves us, but He loves us as individual people. He doesn't just have some clinical concern about our spirits - whether we'll be going to Heaven or Hell - but He cares about us, the person both you and I are inside.
This is what I want to tell people! I don't want to get them "converted". I just want to tell them that there is Someone who loves them with a steadfast, everlasting, unchanging love. Someone who has promised never to leave them nor forsake them. Someone who understands when no one else does, Someone who will never let them down. Why? Because He's God. He's not human; He doesn't have our human failings.
Every time I see a person hurting or confused or desperate, that's what I want to tell them. I really do believe that God is the answer.
So, if you interpret that as an attempt to "convert" someone, at least, as Dean Esmay - who, by the way, isn't a Christian himself - says, it's done out of concern for the other. It's not arrogance, and I'm not trying to push my beliefs down anybody's throat.
However, I do think that Christians in general have made evangelism into a mechanical thing, one of the Christian "must do"s. No doubt we're "required to tell others about the Gospel", as Dean Esmay put it (see here for chapter & verse :)), but it's supposed to be done out of love, not just for the sake of doing it. "Christ's love compels us," the apostle Paul wrote.
It's not just a matter of "saving souls" or getting people to say the "Sinner's Prayer". It's about caring... sharing... and giving of one's self.
NOTE:
This entry was prompted by Rick's post:
...the need to "defend the faith", for me, is all about story, not proofs and arguments and discussion....I know that there's a great commission, and that there are people all around us every day who are living life without any clue of the kingdom life available for them in Christ. I know that, I really do - and I pray for a heart burdened for that. But all I'm seeing is another method/formula/marketing ploy, a one-size-fits-all mentality that leaves more holes than it fills.