evangelism linebacker; and,well, i wasn't sure at first

the evangelism linebacker was freakin hilarious...it reminded of another blog or post i read the other day...

several weeks ago my buddy brad put up a post on his blog that put out the challenge "the "great commission (mark 16:15)" or the "great commandment (Matthew 22:39)", or something like that...and after reading his post i wasn't sure how i felt...i didn't disagree at all and in fact i agreed with everything he said but i felt myself getting a little testy with that comment "the great commission (mark 16:15)" or "the great commandment (Matthew 22:39". i wasn't sure at first if it was downplaying the great commission and to be honest i had to ponder it for awhile...but then something happened that helped me see that the post was right, i met my neighbor matt...he lives about 3 doors down from our condo...i would say he is probably 25ish or so and has been walking his dog over the past year around the complex. i never had met him until last week. he was pretty cool and had a pretty cute shitzu and i have a pretty cute yorkie poo, so there you go...two really tough guys with their chick dogs, awesome!!!

in my conversation with him i was trying and or looking for a way to say something about jesus...and i felt desperate to be a witness and see him come to Jesus...as we talked i started to feel frustrated that I couldn't find an open door to win him to the lord...then i remembered brad's blog...he made the comment "are we trying to win someone or are we trying to love them"...if i had to answer that question honestly i would have to say i wasn't loving him rather i was waiting for him to give me that one sweet chance to win him...and i again recalled the "winning someone" rather than "loving them" comment...

i had to step back, check my heart, and realize that my zeal to win someone should only follow my heart and love for them, not the other way around. i look at the scripture "love your neighbor as yourself" and i see a great underlying command and that is giving people the gospel and giving people the real Jesus...i realized after seeing that scripture that the "great commission" and the "great commandment" are synonyms...one can't live without the other. By loving people i am compelled to give them Jesus. By loving people the great commission is fulfilled because of God's heart in me to GO (to the world)...by loving people i am compelled to be bothered by whole nations not knowing Jesus...and loving people let's me be myself and be a friend to my neighbor, by loving him the door will open for me to give him the gospel...for whatever reason there wasn't an open door with matt, and as much as it bothers me to not know if he has said yes to Jesus i know i can't throw it down his throat. It bothers me enough to make sure that next time he is outside with his dog, I will go back to him again...and again...and again. He will know that I care about him because he is my friend and not my project. I will pray for an open door to say something...and when that happens i gladly and boldly will walk through that door...because I love him.

i guess all that to say that the evangelism linebacker was funny but that approach doesn't and well, never will work...

word to your moms!!!