It's humbling. It keeps us honest and real. If I call up a believer friend to go to coffee and talk and pray, no doubt, he'll call back and do it if he can. Nothing to lose here. Nothing to risk. I'm not mitigating the importance of Christian fellowship at all. It is important. But it's easy. In fact, I don't even have to think about what I say or how I'll say it (unless I need to confront him on something) because we agree on the fundamentals, share the same tribal dialects, and know all the right answers. 

But now switch the scenario to someone who doesn't believe in Jesus. You call him up because you want to get to know him and share the gospel. But you can't just call him up and say, "Hey, want to do coffee? I want to convince you to become a Jesus-follower." That's almost a guaranteed door slam. So you have to use a little more wisdom and tact. You need a little seasoning (check out Col 4:5-6).

You say, "Hey, let's get together for coffee. It's on me." That's harder to do and I'm not talking about picking up the bill. In sensitivity to the fact that his beliefs are totally different than yours, you're accommodating your approach (not the truth) to him. You're being a Jew to the Jew, a Greek to the Greek (Rom 9:19-23). What you're really doing is becoming a servant of the gospel instead of trying to force him, the unbeliever, to adapt to your Christianized culture. You're choosing to love him whether or not he agrees with you. You're trusting our sovereign God to open up the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus.

That's the danger of "doing" church until it becomes automatic. I love church. But we start creating our own environment until it looks like a throw back to 1950's traditionalism and the world goes, "I have no desire to be a part of that." Why? Because we've selfishly added ceremonialism, traditionalism, Christianese, and behaviorism to the simple, powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. And why have we done that? Out of love for Christ and people? No. Out of love for ourselves. 

This morning I called a friend who does not believe in Jesus and ask him to lunch. I left a message. I was nervous. I asked Kimberly to pray for me. I asked God to help me. It’s unlikely I’d be praying if I was calling up an old Christian friend. See what reaching out to people different than you does? The experience humbled me because I knew I might get rejected. But I loved it at the same time! My faith came alive, my heart rejoiced in God’s power, I knew by taste that He was in control! And it forced me to adapt my style, my preferences, my Christianized tribal dialects to this fellow human, headed for an eternity in hell, totally unsaved, and in need of grace as badly as I need it every second of every day.

Christian, if you don't share the gospel, you'll get proud, stuffy, lack faith, pray little (or at least your prayers will be anemic), and you'll grow cold to both lost people and believers. I don't share this story to blow my horn. Just yesterday I totally blew (ha! pun intended!) an ideal opportunity to share the gospel. This girl kept asking me questions about my friend who I'm officiating a wedding for and how we met and I completely avoided bridging into the gospel. The bridge was more natural than the Golden Gate and I ran away. Shame on my lack of faith in God and love for her. 

But I don't need to stay in that mud puddle crying. I told a fellow believer about my cowardice, he prayed for me, and today I see a change. You can change too.

Humble yourself, admit that pride holds you back from loving people enough to share, and go love sinners! Jesus was a friend of sinners. Oh what a name! His enemies game him that title to slander Him. Yet today we stand forgiven and holy because He lived it.