In my own thought and studies, I am struggling with a deficiency from my youth.
In my early days I was enthralled with my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, I had friends. Usually a triad formed wherever we moved (and we had a number of moves). But always, my friend Jesus was there.
In the days of my youth, I became convinced there was a need for evangelism. To bring people to know this Jesus. A noble concept.
The ideal seemed to be, as implied in a number of evangelistic systems I was taught, that heaven (or hell) was the catalyst towards a relationship with God.
Another approach started with pointing out sin, or broken relationships, or loneliness. To escape those concerns, work your way into God’s presence by accepting Jesus.
But . . . Our world does not know sin. They do not seem to know refreshing relationships. Perhaps they do not even know what it is to have a friend. They only want to live in the here and now – forget eternity.
Let me make an important point here. Prior to knowing sin, separation from God and even eternal life – there has to be God. You cannot know holiness unless there is a standard by which to judge.
When you invite someone to know God, you are inviting them to explore who God is. As the exploration deepens, there will be a crisis in their life – a pivot point. A time when the commit wholeheartedly to knowing God, not just wetting their toes in the pool of who God is.
As they progress in knowing God, the connections to their life will arise. Further pivot points turn them away from old paths and into new adventures. We might just call this abundant life.
So, maybe the best evangelism is to open a way to God that is accessible to others, that exposes the truth of who God is, and that demonstrates that truth in life. I heard it through the grapevine (which might be labelled as the Bible?) that Jesus fits the bill!
And because they have accepted the invitation into the presence of God, people will know sin, self and Satan because these are not God. And to remain in strong relationship with God, they will discard untruth and obey truth.
Just some thoughts that are percolating around in my head.