We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NLT)
What do you think would happen if I walked into the room, walked up to two complete strangers and said “Let me introduce you”? They didn’t know me, I didn’t know them and they had no clue why they would want to know each other. I think they would be polite (maybe), walk away, think I was crazy and never speak to each other (or me) again.
We’ve been processing what it looks like to plant a disciple making church. The thing is, it looks really different than how most churches get planted. I won’t go into all that here but the big thing is you have to be a disciple yourself. You can’t introduce someone you don’t know to someone you don’t know and expect anything to come of it.
So what are the first steps? You need to know Jesus. Personally, intimately and currently. Let me share another analogy. Say I have a ton of head knowledge about Abraham Lincoln. I am an expert in the facts about his life. I’ve read tons of books, given speeches and written about him. I walk into a room and his wife is there. Who would know him better? His wife, of course! She knew all about him because she lived with him. She knew who he really was inside and out. And who better to tell stories about him and share him? It’s the same with Jesus.
In order to share Jesus, not just the Jesus you read about, but the Jesus who IS, you have to spend time with him, know his heart, what he thinks, what motivates him. You’ll have stories about him because you’ve lived life together and shared experiences. You’ve seen him for yourself (Job 42:5)
The second thing we do on a regular basis, is try to share Jesus with complete strangers. Yes, sometimes God calls us to do this but most of the time, he wants us to be living life with people. He wants us to be present, sharing in the ups and downs and loving each other. He wants us to be invested and to really care about the people we are discipling. He wants them to see Jesus in our lives, not just hear about him from our words.
Even if you know Jesus and you know your friend, introducing Jesus to someone needs to be bathed in lots and lots of prayer. We, especially in the Western world, want to do things quickly and efficiently. We want to check the box. Discipleship isn’t like that. Building relationships is never a quick process. It is intentional and it takes time.
Why am I sharing this? Because my prayer for us post COVID is that we assess what our lives are all about. Let’s not get back to business as usual. Let’s lean into the plan Jesus laid out when he was here. Live life with people; sharing, caring and growing all throughout the ups and downs with those God has placed in our lives. When we do that, Jesus, in all his glory, will shine through. Not because we awkwardly introduced him but because he is a part of who we are.