Zealous to Mislead. Why not Become Zealous to Save?
Recently, I noticed that the presence of Jehovah’s Witnesses is getting thicker in my neighborhood. Just last week, a woman in her 70s rang my doorbell, likely to discuss what Jehovah’s Witnesses are best known for. A group of women was knocking on doors to distribute the literature. Upon opening the door for her while holding a baby in one arm, she handed me a tract and asked if I believed in resurrection.
Today I bumped into another woman in her late 60s in the office of the Secretary of State. I had my child with me. She approached me with a big smile. I thought she was smiling at my child, since little kids draw the attention of most adults. As she came within 10 inches of me, I realized that she was not smiling at my adorable child but was instead faking her smile to hand me the same tract I had received a week ago, which asked whether I believed in the resurrection. I was shocked and blown away by the fact that she was in her walker and thus could not walk without the help of the walker. Nevertheless, she was out there in the cold, chilling day in the mall to hand out the tracts and spread her beliefs.
“Your neighbor next door might not be far away in terms of geography, but on a personal level, we can be way too distant from each other.”
Are evangelicals really slacking when it comes to reaching out in public? Yes. In this pluralistic society where truth is relative, it is not so unopposed to Christianity. However, the claim of opposition does not hold much weight. Please understand, I am not advocating for blindly copying the examples I mentioned earlier. What I am saying is that we can reach out to people in our neighborhood and introduce ourselves. Handing out the Gospel tract is not the only way to introduce Jesus to people. Your neighbor next door might not be far away in terms of geography, but on a personal level, we can be way too distant from each other. We may not have connected because we see them as different. Have we introduced ourselves to them? Do we have that sort of zeal to earn the name “Christian” just as early believers in Antioch had?
If Jehovah’s Witnesses dedicate so much effort to knocking on doors, can we commit to praying for our church and those healing wounded souls through the Holy Spirit? Alternatively, how about inviting broken individuals to share a meal with you at your table? Alternatively, how about we lend some assistance to our missionary brothers and sisters by alleviating their financial burdens, thereby partnering in the Gospel? Why do we not become zealous to reach out to our lost sisters and brothers with the love of Jesus Christ?
What if we take the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) seriously and live them out?
