Non-Evangelistic Encounter, 11/21/08: Confession
I've just realized that I haven't written an "Evangelistic Encounters" blogpost since January [the last one can be found HERE]. In the months between then and now the Lord has given me several opportunities to speak the good news of Jesus to others both at work and through my church, though I must quickly add that I have not been nearly as faithful in speaking to non-Christians about Jesus as I would like.
I write the following as a journal so that I can remember these thoughts and so that readers of this blog may help keep me accountable to be more faithful in my witness.
Last night I was working with a friend who is not a Christian and whom I have spoken with before concerning who Jesus is and what He has done. He was telling me that the night before on the way home from work that he had narrowly avoided a car accident. He said, "I could have died!" I responded, "That's serious," and then started thinking about what to say next. We worked in silence for few minutes, then he went to work in another area and I didn't get the opportunity to speak with him again.
Why didn't I speak with my co-worker about eternity and the hope that is found in Christ at this opportune moment? I was not embarrassed or afraid of how he would react to me. I try to blame my silence on the fact that I am a slow thinker, but while this is certainly a part of my personality, I must also confess sin on my part that led to my failure to mention Jesus. The fact is that I was not quick to speak of Jesus because I had not been thinking of Jesus before the moment when my co-worker mentioned his near-accident. I had been sinning in my thoughts, and I must confess that this is all too common and had led to me being largely ineffective in evangelism. By God's grace, I usually do not engage in sins of commission while I am at work: my thoughts are seldom overly stressful, angry, or lustful, but I have fallen into a pattern of sin by omission. While not thinking on anything inherently sinful, I do tend to think of entertainment or jokes or tasks I must do or my family. But I don't think on Christ, I do not have a prayerful mindset, and I do not meditate on Scripture nearly as much as I should. Therefore, I am ill-prepared to make the most of sudden opportunities to proclaim Jesus.
It is my commitment to repent of this sin of omission, to become more focused on my Lord and Savior while I am at work and elsewhere, and to thereby be more faithful in evangelism. I hope that any of my brothers and sisters in Christ reading this blog will pray for me in this regard.
I write the following as a journal so that I can remember these thoughts and so that readers of this blog may help keep me accountable to be more faithful in my witness.
Last night I was working with a friend who is not a Christian and whom I have spoken with before concerning who Jesus is and what He has done. He was telling me that the night before on the way home from work that he had narrowly avoided a car accident. He said, "I could have died!" I responded, "That's serious," and then started thinking about what to say next. We worked in silence for few minutes, then he went to work in another area and I didn't get the opportunity to speak with him again.
Why didn't I speak with my co-worker about eternity and the hope that is found in Christ at this opportune moment? I was not embarrassed or afraid of how he would react to me. I try to blame my silence on the fact that I am a slow thinker, but while this is certainly a part of my personality, I must also confess sin on my part that led to my failure to mention Jesus. The fact is that I was not quick to speak of Jesus because I had not been thinking of Jesus before the moment when my co-worker mentioned his near-accident. I had been sinning in my thoughts, and I must confess that this is all too common and had led to me being largely ineffective in evangelism. By God's grace, I usually do not engage in sins of commission while I am at work: my thoughts are seldom overly stressful, angry, or lustful, but I have fallen into a pattern of sin by omission. While not thinking on anything inherently sinful, I do tend to think of entertainment or jokes or tasks I must do or my family. But I don't think on Christ, I do not have a prayerful mindset, and I do not meditate on Scripture nearly as much as I should. Therefore, I am ill-prepared to make the most of sudden opportunities to proclaim Jesus.
It is my commitment to repent of this sin of omission, to become more focused on my Lord and Savior while I am at work and elsewhere, and to thereby be more faithful in evangelism. I hope that any of my brothers and sisters in Christ reading this blog will pray for me in this regard.
Labels: evangelism
posted by Andrew Lindsey | 4:58 PM
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