Lighting Up Our City Video 1: Relational Evangelismনমুনা

I have a pet peeve. I don’t like it when someone on social media “friends” me then, within seconds, pops into my messages wanting me to buy their product or sign up for their service. It makes me feel like I’m just a number to be added to their list. It’s obvious they don’t want to know me.

I never buy or sign up. Usually, I hit the “unfriend” button. I’m guessing that might bother you too.

I think about that when I consider how I tell people about Jesus. I love Him. I want other people to love Him. I have stories about how He has walked beside me in hard times, has freed me from difficult things, and has taken away my sin. These are things I want other people to experience.

But I can’t simply shout at them. They have to know they are seen, known… even if the relationship is nothing more than a conversation in a grocery store line.

There is power in relationships. Jesus often established a connection with a person before He brought them the truth of Who He was. He made sure they knew He truly saw them. One of my favorite examples is with the woman at the well in John 4:4-42. After a conversation that leads down several paths, He invites her to let Him change her life. He doesn’t berate her for her sin; instead, He shows her that she has value to Him first.

Many times, the exchanges are quick. He heals. He delivers. He feeds. But always, Jesus sees.

Telling someone about Jesus can be difficult. Often, people are more willing to respond to Jesus’s love when they see it genuinely showing through us. In 1 John 3:18, John tells us we are to “love not with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Why? Because this is how the world sees that Jesus truly loves them.

Who can you show the love of Jesus to, so that they will truly want to listen when you share His love with them?

By Jodie Bailey