Everyday Evangelists Part 2: Heart

(If you havn't read the first part, you might want to do that or this may not make much sense!)

Heart
I would venture to say that in the history of film there has not been a character that shows more heart and passion for a person, a cause and a country than William Wallace in Braveheart. His love for Scotland, the drive that came from a desire to avenge the lives of his wife, father, brother and hundreds of others pushed him to be a creative problem solver, a charismatic leader and fierce warrior. When a person has a big heart, it’s obvious – it shows in the decisions they make, the words they choose and lives they lead.

The question in evangelism is not so much about having passion, but rather about where we need to focus our passion. Three areas come to mind – there are probably more, but we are limited on space here!

1) A Passion for Christ. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

I can always tell my daughter’s latest crush simply by counting the number of times a particular name comes up in conversation. When someone is on her mind, she talks about him – even if she tries not to, the name works its way into everyday conversation. When we develop a passion for Christ – truly living by faith in him and dying to ourselves - talking about him will be as natural as discussing Saturday’s ball game or our favorite fishing hole.

2) A Passion for People. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” I John 4:7-8

In the evangelism process, we have to see the people around us, believers and unbelievers alike, a more than just territory to be conquered. Each and every soul we encounter has a story. Our aim in evangelism is not to abduct them from their current life and place them as drones into ours. Our goal is to introduce them to the Author of all life, and in doing so help them see the fullness of life that they are missing. If we focus so much on the religion of Christianity that we miss the people that are, and will become Christ followers, we rob our neighbors of the full extent of God’s power unleashed uniquely in each believer’s life. The only way we can remove our own bias is by loving people more than processes and by having more faith in the God who gives life than in our own limited experience of life. With these priorities in line, God will unleash in us a passion for people that will become contagious!


3) A Passion for the Word of God. “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long; Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me; I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes; I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts; I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word; I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me; How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth; I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.” Psalm 119:92-104

God’s Word is our primary source for knowing him, understanding His desire to relate to His people, and learning how to relate to them. The more we know the word, the stronger our passion for people will become. As we devote ourselves to God’s word, letting it become ingrained in every expression of our lives, it will begin to takeover our hearts, overflow from our lives, and spill out onto everyone around us. His passion will become our passion. Our will becomes less and His will takes over.

Of the three elements up for discussion, “heart” is perhaps the most elusive. Western culture tends to view our passions as inalienably connected to our personalities to the extent that we believe the issue of heart or passion is relegated to the same category as those “new tricks” we can’t teach an “old dog.” While there is some truth to this, the greater truth is that God is in the heart changing business. Effective evangelism and outreach begins with a heart that is broken, submissive to God and ready to be remolded in His image, taking on the passions of our God as our own.