The other day I got punched in the gut. Well, not literally, but it was definitely a wake-up call. Have you ever had one of those moments where you see or hear something and immediately go “Oh my gawd, what I am doing?!”
Well, last week I had one of those moments, and it’s pretty much changed my perspective on proselytizing non-Christians. Now what, you may ask, caused this awe inspiring, perspective shifting, mind blowing moment? I’ll tell you.
It was a youtube video clip from Penn of Penn & Teller.
Now I’m sure most of you would not think that youtube + Penn = amazing Christian revelation, but it happened. And here’s why: Penn was talking about being given a Bible by a Christian stranger, and guess what? He didn’t just like the guy, he APPROVED of him boldly sharing his faith.
Is your mind blown yet?
Faith in Action
Witnessing is a strange business sometimes. Donald Miller, when he spoke at one of our campus events a few years ago, said sometimes asking Christians to go evangelize is like inviting them to join you in skipping naked through a forest looking for pixies.
Funny analogy, but a stinging truth. We all know we should, but we don’t, because we don’t want to look weird or offend people, or feel stupid, etc. But let’s face it, those excuses don’t hold water. Because at the end of the day, it’s not a question of how we’ll look, it’s really a question of how much we love.
As Penn, an self professed atheist put it, “If you really believe in the possibility of eternal salvation, how much do you have to hate someone to NOT tell them about it? I mean, if I really believed a truck was barreling down the road about to hit you, at some point I’m going to tackle you out of the way… forget about offending you.”
Share the Love
This story struck me because 1) it’s just really cool to hear an atheist praising a Christian for witnessing, and 2) because this man cared enough about Penn to share his faith, regardless of whether he looked stupid or not.
Sometimes I think we’re so worried about looking foolish in front of people, we forget that the act of witnessing to someone isn’t just something God calls us to do, it can also be a manner in which to show love to someone. And that, is really what sharing the gospel comes down to – love.
Don’t Miss It
Penn is still an atheist (for now anyway). But I’ll bet you if anything at all, he has at least a more favorable opinion of Christians because this man shared his faith with him, and did so in a kind, respectful and loving manner.
My point with today’s article is this: opportunities are everywhere. The crazy thing is we miss it a lot because we pre-judge people before even asking if they’ll at least consider listening to what we have to say.
My challenge to you (and myself) then is to open your eyes and start asking God for opportunities to live out faith. It could be giving someone a bible, inviting them to church or offering to pray. Whatever the case is, we don’t know what could happen unless we make the first move. And then the rest is up to God, and we get to go along for the ride.
“Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” – 2 Corinthians 9:13
Kimberly Chung is the National Media Director for Campus Renewal Ministries, a ministry focused on forging partnerships in prayer to build missional communities that transform college campuses with the gospel of Jesus. She is a campus minister to The University of Texas at Austin and can be reached at kim@campusrenewal.org
