It’s not only unnecessary; it’s counterproductive when we turn the fireman’s hose of spiritual verbiage on people who just need to sip the Water of Life. Of course, we want to bring people all the way to a radical conversion on the spot, and there’s nothing better when that happens. But when that doesn’t occur, I consider it a minor victory to be at least one Christian that might not get listed under the heading of “Self-Righteous Know-It-Alls.” If I can’t win everybody to Jesus, I want to at least give him or her no new alibis for rejecting him.
We might do well to celebrate the smaller steps people need to take toward a friendship with God. Remember that we’re not their first clue that he exists (creation, conscience, culture, etc. all beat you to the punch) and we probably won’t be their last. Our passion, then, can be a more patient passion to bring them to Jesus.
– Originally published in Reaching Rahab: Joining God In His Quest For Friends
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