A Christian is one who follows Jesus as his Lord. Instead of serving our own desires and conforming to what our surroundings tell us to be and do, we have found the freedom and life found in Jesus alone! How wonderful it is to follow our Master, for he is loving and His burden is light. I never realized what a load I had been carrying until I came to Jesus and found strength and rest. But what about the many people around us who have not yet learned of Christ and the hope and strength He offers? Sure, we know God has told us to share the truth with them, but what if they think we’re weird? Surely if they want to know what faith in Jesus is, they’ll just ask? No.
A Needed Invitation
Though you may not believe it at first, there are many people all around you who want to know spiritual truth. They would gladly converse with you on the subject and even come to your church with you to see what it’s all about. But guess what, they’re not going to tell you that! And you can’t identify them by just looking.
What Do the Numbers Say?
According to a Scott McConnell of LifeWay Research “…many would respond to an invitation from a friend or acquaintance (41 percent), their children (25 percent) or an adult family member (25 percent).” (Read these stats in detail here.) The difficult part for many Christians about asking a friend or acquaintance to church is this: what if they say no??? Allow me to let you in on a little secret. Most will say no. Gasp! 😀
Collecting No’s
The stats are going to vary greatly for any specific person and set of circumstances, so for simplicity let’s just assume that 20% of friends you invite via personal invitation will actually attend church with you. Of those who attend, some will never return, some will return a few times, and some will be radically changed and become followers of Christ. How many people will say no to your invitation in order for you to find one person who will hear the Holy Spirit’s voice and turn from sin to faith in Jesus? Ten? Sixty? Two thousand?
Does it matter? Is it worth it to bring one lost soul to the feet of your loving Savior, so that he may taste the love and salvation of Jesus as you have? Can you imagine yourself standing before your Lord at the end of your life saying, “Jesus, I would have told people about you, but I just didn’t want to hear anyone tell me no. It felt awkward.”
Ambassadors
We Christians need to trust God that He has people out there He is going to save. He has put us where we are in our lives in order that we would take His Word to these people, to be the means by which they hear the gospel. Christ died for sinners, and anyone who will place their faith in Him will be washed clean and declared righteous.
Go Get More of Both
Instead of viewing negatively an answer of, “no,” to our invitation to come and see Jesus, we should view it as a victory—that’s one more person in the denominator. For every 100 friends you ask, some percent of them are just waiting to be asked, to come and hear, and to find rest and peace for their souls. It is God’s plan that they will be saved. And it is God’s plan that a Christian would share the good news with them. Will you be that Christian? Or will God use someone obedient? Embrace the no’s, they are part of the process. The more invitations, the more no’s, and naturally, the more yeses. Let’s be the church we are called to be: let us come together for equipping and encouragement to take the gospel out to the very ends of the earth. Lord Jesus, lead us on, show us how, and may your will be done.