Last night I had a wonderful time out with friends. We ate, laughed, visited and discussed ministry. One of our topics of discussion was how difficult it is to share about our faith to people who are treated as outcasts by the church. My friends all have ties to SISTER ministries, so this is a concern of ours. Our ministry is mainly to a segment of the population that feels rejected.
One of the first questions that came up is, “How do we witness to people that think we hate them?” It is hard to share because many people think that Christian means bigoted, angry, self-righteous and condemning. They also see us as hypocrites because very often our sin issues are as obvious as theirs.
How do we overcome these things? We do it the same way Jesus did. Remember, most people questioned him and his motives. His family thought he was crazy when he started his ministry (Mark 3:21). The Pharisees accused him of being demon-possessed (Mark 3:22). He was crucified, labeling him a common criminal. And still, he was not deterred from doing good and loving people.
Jesus kept his focus on the will of the Father. He was not deterred from doing good and loving the world no matter what labels were put on him. He also didn’t wait for the religious organizations of the day to get on board with him. He cared for people and loved them even when he was isolated and alone.
When the disciples left Jesus alone at the well, he shared God’s love with a woman from Samaria. When he hung on the cross, isolated and alone, he showed kindness to the criminal hanging beside him. He demonstrated his love for us by dying on the cross (Romans 5:8), completely alone without the support of anyone.
Since the discussion last night, I have thought a lot about Jesus and how he ministered to a world that was confused about his motives. I realized that he didn’t worry about what people were saying or about what they thought. He simply obeyed the will of the Father.
People may think I am a bigot, or hypocritical. They may think my faith is crazy. Some may even accuse me of living for evil purposes. But, like Jesus, I can’t wait until people see me and my faith in a positive light. I can’t wait for the traditional religious organizations to help me. I have to keep my focus. I have to do the will of the Father.
No matter what people think, or who else helps. I have a responsibility to reach hurting people with the love of Jesus. So How will I do that? Jesus’ teaching and example outline my job for today; “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37, ESV) And, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39, ESV) The rest is up to Him!