Christians have developed methods of sharing the gospel in a nice systematic presentation. As a result, the gospel has gone out to millions and millions who have never heard it. However, in the hands of an immature believer, an over-reliance on transferrable methods can sometimes lead to the gospel becoming a project, rather then being rooted in love. Let’s look at these extremes:
Left side: On this side, what we see is people as a project. Striking up a conversation with a person only to share the gospel, not because you care about the person. Building a relationship with a person, solely for the purpose of converting them… not because you want to be their friend.
People read right through insincerity eventually. If they sense you’re not really interested in them, but only in seeing them go along with your presentation, it can be a turn-off to faith in God.
The gospel may still go out, but insincere love is ineffective in the long run. In a neighborhood gathering recently, a Mexican woman said “I don’t trust Gringos because they only want to try and convert me.” If that’s true, this is not Christ-like love, because it is not authentic love.
If we’re not loving a person authentically, we’re being task-oriented vs love-oriented. And the Apostle Paul said: without love, we’re like a noisy gong. (1 Corinthians 13:1)
Right side: On the other side, you may have a Christian who just loves people like crazy… is always serving people… but never shares his or her faith. Never shares about God. Hides their faith. This is also not Christ-like love, because Christ’s love always involves encouraging people to turn to God. Remember what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery. He helped her, but also encouraged her to walk on the right path. (John 8:1-11)
God’s way: What we see in the example of Jesus, is that love is authentic and gospel centered. We are to love people authentically, and that includes encouraging them towards God.
As a pastor, I’ve blown this many times… I’ve pushed my agenda with a person without listening to them, without understanding them, without loving them. On the flip side, at times, I’ve been too apathetic, where I’ve built a friendship, but never shared about faith in God. I’ve been on both sides of the pendulum.
But when I’ve loved people authenticity, it breeds openness. When people sense your love for them, they respond with more openness, because they grow to trust you more. That you have their interests at heart. And that leads to good honest spiritual discussion, pointing people to Christ.
Where are you at with people? Too far on either side? If so, take this to the Lord and ask Him to conform you to his heart in this matter.