Street Evangelism. Two words that used to both scare me and cause me to picture a crazy old guy yelling at people on street corners. Somehow in the last few months I have become the crazy person...Ok, not really crazy. Actually, I am more sane that most of the people I talk to. When I think back to this time last summer, I still can't believe that I am where I am.
I remember back home when the JW's made me cry on the door step. I was so frustrated that I didn't know the words to say to them...I knew I had the truth and that they were lost in darkness, but I didn't have words. It was one of the main reasons that I wanted to come to bible college. I thought that I needed to have more knowledge before I could share. I wasn't smart enough or educated enough and I needed to do something about it. I remember I used to go to school or work and spend the day with people who I truely beleived were headed to hell yet I felt powerless to do anything about it. I was empty of words.
I guess it could be said that in a way I accomplished what I set out to do...get to a place where I could share with people. But the truth is, I still have nothing to offer. I still don't know the words. I am still not enough. The difference is that now I try. I somehow started taking steps of faith and now I find myself on day three of evangelism. We just keep going out and sharing. Everytime we have gone, someone wants to stay back or feels sick, but then we do it anyways and God speaks to us and through us in ways that are insane.
In the past few days I have talked, sharing the gospel, sometimes I sit there and search for the words in my mind to convince people, sometimes I laugh with them as they make fun of me, and sometimes I have to walk away feeling like a failure. But, sometimes, something amazing happens and the Spirit takes over. One of my teachers last spring always said that the eyes are windows into the soul and in the last few months I have seen that it's true. When I look into someones eyes and see that they are impacted by the gospel I feel convicted that I haven't spent more of my life sharing with people. Half the time I have to end a conversation before I can even start it. When my question "Do you speak English?" is answered with a "No" I am reminded again that I am not enough.
But in America I wouldn't have needed to ask that question. At least here I could excuse my laziness and selfishness with the excuse that I don't speak the language, which I am quickly finding out is not really an excuse at all...but back home? Back home I just wasted air on pointless conversations. I am beginning to understand something that I've already known for years...everyone who does not know Jesus is going to hell. Do you realize how many people that is? How many people do we walk by everyday? We come so close and then just move on. "Thank you for opening the door", "Enjoy your lunch", "Have a nice day". Are these really the most important things we have to say to strangers who are headed into an eternity of agony?
Right now I realized that I am pretty pumped. I have had some very amazing experiences and very real encountors with God. But I never want to forget about hell again. I would rather be insane and radical that a lazy Christian focused on myself and spending time with other lazy Christians. So I want to challenge you to tell someone about Jesus. It's scary, you might look like an idiot, sound like an idiot and feel like an idiot...but the power of the gospel is so strong that Jesus can even use our idiotic words to make Himself known. So do something different today. God will bless you more than you can possibly know.
