It's Not So Complicated!

Why do we make it so hard?  Evangelism shouldn't require rocket science to pull it off.  Even so, we usually make it harder than it needs to be, or we concoct extravagant reasons to try and excuse ourselves from carrying it out.

There are two instances in the Bible in which Jesus shows us how to do one-on-one evangelism, and we would do well to study his example.  One is found in John 4, when Jesus speaks to the woman at the well.  The other, on which I will focus today, is found in John 9.

My own eyes are not so great, and I suppose that is why this story resonates so strongly with me.  First, I have incredibly bad eyesight.  I got my first pair of glasses somewhere early in elementary school, and my eyesight has steadily deteriorated over the years.

Then, about seven years ago, I experienced vitriol detachments, first in one eye, then in the other.  Although not a serious condition, it's annoying.  Most days it causes some blurriness of vision, especially when looking side to side.  Driving in rain along with this blurriness is not a good thing for me.

And furthermore, I'm at the age where I need bifocals, regular application of mascara to avoid the "turtle eyes" look, creams to keep the bagging syndrome minimized, and waxing or other eyebrow maintenance operations to keep that unruliness at bay.

But, when I read a chapter like John 9, I'm extremely grateful that I have my vision at all, and that my parents were able to afford eye correction devices for me throughout my early life.

The bookends of the ninth chapter of John are a physical healing - a man healed of blindness, and a spiritual healing - a salvation when the same man decides to follow Jesus.

Verses 35-38 are a simple blueprint, given to us by Jesus, of how to share the good news of the gospel with an unbeliever.

Read John 9:35-38 and see if this isn't a simple summary:

          A Story of Evangelism

     1.  Jesus went to find the man. 
     2.  Jesus asked him if he believed.
     3.  The man asked some questions.
     4.  Jesus answered his questions.
     5.  The man decided he believed and stated his belief to Jesus.
     6.  From then on the man worshipped.

We must go to them.  They won't come to us.
We must talk to them about Jesus.
They may have questions.
We must patiently and lovingly answer their questions.
At some point a decision must be made, one way or another.
The person may make a statement of his belief.
If the person has decided to follow Jesus, it will show in his life.

Let's not let anything stop us from sharing with others the greatest news there ever was!