Evangelization (without Words)

e·van·ge·lize

  [ih-van-juh-lahyz]  Show IPA

verb (used with object), e·van·ge·lized, e·van·ge·liz·ing.

1.

to preach the gospel to.

2.

to convert to Christianity.

verb (used without object), e·van·ge·lized, e·van·ge·liz·ing.

3.

to preach the gospel; act as an evangelist.                                   

Above is the dictionary definition of the word "evangelize." True evangelization, intentional relationships, and authentic love have been on my mind lately. Actually, they have been on both my mind and heart since coming home from Vermont this past August. 

You see, when I had my "re-version" back to the Catholic faith I was all about the bare-handed, "Have you met my friend Jesus?" life. I was fearless in talking about Him with any and every person who crossed my path. At the time, I saw absolutely nothing wrong with this. I mean, according to the dictionary, to evangelize is to preach the gospel and to convert to Christianity. Best done in words, right? 

I would argue that my view of evangelizing others was wrong. I would also argue that the Apostles converted more people to Christianity through relationships than through a blatant, stand on a pedestal-and-preach attitude. Jesus had a message for the world. A message of Truth. It was a love story from Heaven. But He CARED for people before He spoke. He showed them Heaven before He talked about it.

Think about the story of the loaves and fish. Jesus didn't look at the crowd, see their hunger, then think to Himself, "They're sinners. I need to save them before I fulfill their bodily wants and needs." Rather, He told the Apostles to gather food. He multiplied the food, and He let them eat. Through this action He gained the trust of the crowd. People began to see that He wasn't there to condemn them, He was there to LOVE them through His actions. He waited to speak until He knew of their mutual trust in each other.

I have a feeling that in the above story Jesus was not sitting around waiting to make His next move in evangelizing these people while they ate. From the very depths of His being He cared about them. He wanted to KNOW them. He wanted them to know Him. In modern day terminology, we would call this caring-in-action "love" and this getting-to-know-each-other "friendship." He was a friend.  

Our society is thirsting for authenticity. We crave quality time. We long to be invested in, cared about. I think that Christians have the right mind-set in wanting to share Jesus with people, but I also think our approach needs some tweaking. Let me use my family as an example:

I adore my family more than anything. They are amazing people who are natural givers. We have a lot of fun, and we LOVE. But we are a wounded, broken family. When I found myself falling in love with Jesus, I recognized the broken parts of myself and realized that He was the only one who could heal shattered humanity. When I asked for Him to mend my wounds, He slowly and painfully answered my request. Suddenly, I knew what real LOVE was. I knew what real JOY was. And I craved for my family to know Jesus in the way I had come to know Him.

However, the more I longed for them to know His love, the more I recognized their wounds. I became frustrated with their sin and brokenness and was saddened that they might never have a personal encounter with Christ. I talked about Him all the time. I was the "Jesus freak" of my family. And suddenly, I couldn't take it. I could not understand why they wouldn't pray with me, go to Church with me, try and follow the Commandments with me. 

And then I went to Vermont, where being on fire for Jesus is a SCARY thing. Where most people genuinely do not want to hear about "my friend Jesus Christ." Suddenly, I realized what I was doing wrong:

In all my talk ABOUT Jesus, I never knew how to BE Jesus for others.

What a concept, right? Being Jesus. I had spent so much time thinking about bringing Jesus to my family, my actions were quite the contrary. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to talk about Jesus. When you love someone, you want to share with others what makes that person so beautiful. However, not everyone wants to hear it. ESPECIALLY if they have had a negative life experience that turned their hearts away from Him. It's the plain truth. From Christian to Christian-- YES. Talk about Him. But from my experience with luke-warm Christians and agnostics, preaching the Gospel in words really hinders your ability to authentically love someone. 

It is not our job to confront people about their sins. Jesus never looked at Mary Magdalene as a prostitute in need of saving.  He looked at her as a beautiful woman in need of a friend. We are all sinners in need of friends who look past our sins because they love us. 

 I guarantee that everyone reading this blog came to know about a real relationship with Jesus because of another person who took the time to invest in them. Someone who just wanted to be their friend. Talking about Heaven came later, after they saw His love in action in another human. 

We have to start BEING Jesus in all that we do. We have to stop having friendships with hidden intentions, even if the hidden intention is evangelization. Get your new friends to Heaven by your prayers for them. And then just LOVE them. Get to know them. Teach them how to live their talents in the most perfect and humble way possible (aka... Holiness). Through your intentional and authentic care for their needs, you will BE Jesus for them. There is no way they won't see something different in you, because there is. His name is Jesus.