Evangelism won’t look the same for everyone, but it should look like something. Spend some time with God: praying, reading a chunk of the book of Acts – something to open up hope in you before you introduce it to others.
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV)
The best thing that anyone can do with their life is to be a witness of Jesus. This means encountering Him – witnessing Him – first-hand for themselves. Then giving witness to Him to others.
The problem is most people haven’t witnessed Jesus. Not really. They might think they don’t need to because they already know all there is to know. But often this Jesus is the one of story books, a nice man in a white dress; or a cosmic Santa figure you can petition when you really need something; or the human face of an angry God, ready to strike when you don’t follow the rules.
The real Jesus is much bigger, much more exciting, and, maybe, much more scary. And He does not want people to know facts about Him, but to witness first-hand His grace, His forgiveness and His love. But how do we help others meet someone who is invisible and does not always talk back? Well, this is where we come in – you and I. We are living witnesses to the God we love. Along with every other Christian – because we are all witnesses. God chooses to show Himself to others through his relationship with each and every one of us. Through what we do, through our choices, actions and priorities, and through our words. Words matter.
Often when we experience something amazing we want others to witness it. We want others to see and enjoy what we have. A Christian is someone who has witnessed God’s love in the face of Christ. It has changed our lives, and so we long for it to change every life. Each of us has a different story to tell, a different way in which God’s love has brought revolution to our lives. All we do as witnesses is wait for the opportunity and give testimony to that – simply say what we know. No two people witness in the same way, because each of us has witnessed first-hand something unique. Truly the most generous thing we can do in any of our days is simply take the God-given opportunities to witness to the truth of what we have experienced. And let Jesus take it from there.
CHALLENGES:
Green: Look out for opportunities today to say what you yourself have witnessed first-hand of the love, grace and faithfulness of God.
Yellow: How does what you have witnessed of Jesus translate into your actions today – is it in forgiveness, goodness or loving kindness?
Red: Who do you most hope would experience the love of Jesus? Pray for them and get in touch. Be bold and invite them to witness Jesus first-hand for themselves.
Contributed by The Archbishop of Canterbury - The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby has been the Archbishop of Canterbury since 2013. He has three main priorities for his ministry – Evangelism and Witness, Prayer and the Renewal of Religious Life, and Reconciliation. Before he began training for ministry in 1989, Archbishop Justin worked in the oil industry for 11 years. He is married to Caroline and they have five adult children and three grandchildren.