Before embarking on any endeavour it is very important that we question our motives. Unless and until our motives are wholesome we will not be able to bear true fruit.
As I ask the question 'Why do you want to evangelise?', may be I should try and answer that myself.
For me the why is closely related to the what i.e. -- what is the good news that I have to share with the world.
Through the very unique twists and turns and highs and lows of my life I came to know a God. I came to know that this God was not only an all powerful chap, but that He was also my real dad. From those days on my relationship with Him deepened. I realised the privilege of being privileged, the coolness of being carefree, and the contentment that comes from within.
And then I realised that this was heaven. And that heaven was not some utopian concept to be acheived after a strenous and ardous journey battling sin in this life spent awaiting to be awarded in my afterlife.
And then I realised what the Gospel aka Good news was! It was exactly this -- the good news that Jesus came to preach was His Father and my Father. Having the Father was the gateway to heaven; loving the Father was the gateway to bliss; and trusting the Father was the gateway to carefree abandon and contentment.
This brings us back to the question of Why do I want to evangelize. Over the years I have had the privilege to lend my ear, arms and heart to many tears, troubles and travails. There is no person in this whole wide world who does not seek contentment - whether we know it or not--there is an innate need within us that seeks to be content. To be in that place where everything is just right. But oftentimes our contentment is based on several factors external to us being optimal. Therein lies the intrinsic pitfall. For true contentment to be enduring it needs to be achievable and sustainable with minimal reliance on factors external to us the person.
And this can happen only if we love our Lord and God with all our heart soul mind and strength. With the entirety of our being, and above and beyond all else. This is the gospel which we need to live and which we can then share.
May the desire to help and to love and to alleviate suffering be the prime reason for anyone to set out to evangelize. MAy our deep joy in loving this great daddy be the driving force for all our actions.
P.S--A short note on why not to evengelize.
1. Do not evangelize to increase your church/denomination/prayer group /community numbers.
2. Do not evangelize because you feel that the person you are evangelizing is going to go to hell without you.
3. Do not evangelize simply to populate the afterlife heaven but rather to proffer the 'this life' heaven.
As I ask the question 'Why do you want to evangelise?', may be I should try and answer that myself.
For me the why is closely related to the what i.e. -- what is the good news that I have to share with the world.
Through the very unique twists and turns and highs and lows of my life I came to know a God. I came to know that this God was not only an all powerful chap, but that He was also my real dad. From those days on my relationship with Him deepened. I realised the privilege of being privileged, the coolness of being carefree, and the contentment that comes from within.
And then I realised that this was heaven. And that heaven was not some utopian concept to be acheived after a strenous and ardous journey battling sin in this life spent awaiting to be awarded in my afterlife.
And then I realised what the Gospel aka Good news was! It was exactly this -- the good news that Jesus came to preach was His Father and my Father. Having the Father was the gateway to heaven; loving the Father was the gateway to bliss; and trusting the Father was the gateway to carefree abandon and contentment.
This brings us back to the question of Why do I want to evangelize. Over the years I have had the privilege to lend my ear, arms and heart to many tears, troubles and travails. There is no person in this whole wide world who does not seek contentment - whether we know it or not--there is an innate need within us that seeks to be content. To be in that place where everything is just right. But oftentimes our contentment is based on several factors external to us being optimal. Therein lies the intrinsic pitfall. For true contentment to be enduring it needs to be achievable and sustainable with minimal reliance on factors external to us the person.
And this can happen only if we love our Lord and God with all our heart soul mind and strength. With the entirety of our being, and above and beyond all else. This is the gospel which we need to live and which we can then share.
May the desire to help and to love and to alleviate suffering be the prime reason for anyone to set out to evangelize. MAy our deep joy in loving this great daddy be the driving force for all our actions.
P.S--A short note on why not to evengelize.
1. Do not evangelize to increase your church/denomination/prayer group /community numbers.
2. Do not evangelize because you feel that the person you are evangelizing is going to go to hell without you.
3. Do not evangelize simply to populate the afterlife heaven but rather to proffer the 'this life' heaven.
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