Screaming Jesus
I spent a couple of days last week in Chicago, enjoying fall break with the kids and some friends who had come over from eastern Indiana. It was an enjoyable time, though we did so much we were all pretty tired by the time we headed back on the train Saturday afternoon.
Walking along Michigan Avenue on Saturday, though, I noticed two things. First of all, there were more homeless people (for lack of a better term, I don't really know what their situation was) out on the streets than I normally see when we've been there. Several had children with them. All had signs.
The second thing I noticed was two different men. One was standing on the street corner with a t-shirt that said something about Jesus, and a sign saying something about Jesus being the hope of the world. He was yelling out as people tried to cross the street, "Jesus Christ is the hope of the world! Jesus Christ is the hope of the world!" Later the same day, when we were walking back toward the train station, another man was walking along with a similar shirt on, but he was mumbling as he crossed the street, something like, "Salvation is found in Jesus." He hoped, I think, people would hear him.
But here's my question. Why were they out there? No one, as far as I could tell, was coming under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and giving their life to Jesus just because one man was screaming about Jesus. No one stopped the man crossing the street to ask him more about this salvation he seemed to know of. Were they simply doing their perceived duty? In some ways, doing something like that is easier than real evangelism. True evangelism is messy and hard. It gets into people's lives. It shares burdens. It causes us to get to know people and meet them where they are at. Real evangelism calls us to speak Jesus into someone's life, to love them toward the savior, not scream at them from the a crowded street corner.
I wonder what those men think when they go home at night. Did they notice the many homeless people, the least, last and lost that Jesus would care about? Did they ever look into people's faces and see the struggles each person had on their mind? Or do they go home content, feeling as if they've "done their job" for the day, simply screaming Jesus into the crowd.
I might be wrong, but I don't think that's how Jesus got his message out...or how he wants us to get it out today. I think he wants us to love people as he would love them. That's an idea that just might cause people to notice.
Walking along Michigan Avenue on Saturday, though, I noticed two things. First of all, there were more homeless people (for lack of a better term, I don't really know what their situation was) out on the streets than I normally see when we've been there. Several had children with them. All had signs.
The second thing I noticed was two different men. One was standing on the street corner with a t-shirt that said something about Jesus, and a sign saying something about Jesus being the hope of the world. He was yelling out as people tried to cross the street, "Jesus Christ is the hope of the world! Jesus Christ is the hope of the world!" Later the same day, when we were walking back toward the train station, another man was walking along with a similar shirt on, but he was mumbling as he crossed the street, something like, "Salvation is found in Jesus." He hoped, I think, people would hear him.
But here's my question. Why were they out there? No one, as far as I could tell, was coming under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and giving their life to Jesus just because one man was screaming about Jesus. No one stopped the man crossing the street to ask him more about this salvation he seemed to know of. Were they simply doing their perceived duty? In some ways, doing something like that is easier than real evangelism. True evangelism is messy and hard. It gets into people's lives. It shares burdens. It causes us to get to know people and meet them where they are at. Real evangelism calls us to speak Jesus into someone's life, to love them toward the savior, not scream at them from the a crowded street corner.
I wonder what those men think when they go home at night. Did they notice the many homeless people, the least, last and lost that Jesus would care about? Did they ever look into people's faces and see the struggles each person had on their mind? Or do they go home content, feeling as if they've "done their job" for the day, simply screaming Jesus into the crowd.
I might be wrong, but I don't think that's how Jesus got his message out...or how he wants us to get it out today. I think he wants us to love people as he would love them. That's an idea that just might cause people to notice.
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