A quick look in the mirror assured me, I don’t look like a magnet. But for Jehovah’s witnesses I seem to. For no apparent reason they find me and want to talk to me about God. And hey, what is wrong with that? I love talking about God. Maybe that is the reason they find me. I don’t blow them off just because they mention their faith. The problem for me is, that it takes usually a few moments for me to realize that they are Jehovah’s witnesses. I have to see first, that we are not exactly on the same page. For them, the New Earth is not a completely new existence (maybe even on a new planet). They read „earth“ in this context more as „system of the word“, „society“, or „government“. They believe that this world will slowly be transformed into heaven. (This is, by the way, the reason, they are aiming for political and worldly power. They think, this is how the new earth will be realized.) So, unless your conversation with them touches the topic of eternity, you might never find out, to whom you are talking. Unfortunately our view of eternity determines everything else. And, as it seems, even how we talk to people about God.
The other night I was standing at a bus stop waiting for my ride home, when two Asian students came up to me. Their intention was, to invite me to their student Bible group. And I admit, it felt nice that they still considered me to be a student. And again, why not talk about God at a bus stop? (Our faith shouldn’t be private anyway, right?) But the more we talked, the more I felt like a mark. Like they were trying to con me into believing in God. Lucky for me, my bus came. On my way home I realized how much it bothered me, that they only wanted to check a list and were in no way interested in me as a person. It was not love for me that made them approach me, but filling a quota. And yet, are we any better?
A friend of mine told me that she became a christian because a classmate had nagged her until she said yes. Like the judge in one of Jesus’ stories, she only complied to stop her friend from asking. (Fortunately her attitude toward God has changed since. She is following Jesus now, because she wants to.) But is that, how Jesus made disciples? Yes, He called people out. Some said yes, others said no. But then there are a bunch of situations were He seems to be sending people away. Like He wants to make them stop following Him. What was that, Jesus? Don’t you want followers? But no, He doesn’t. He wants disciples. Don’t come along for the ride. Be ready to work. You will have to pay the price. You will have to run the race. You have to be willing and able to finish. Otherwise it is not worth the risk. He wants us to take up His cross and follow him. We are not called to be spectators, who leave, when life gets to hard or when there is nothing left for us to watch. We are called into a lifestyle where we have to acknowledge with Peter “Where else should we go? Only you have the Words of Life.“
In a way, we should always tell the Good News with clear warnings. We should run around telling everybody to not follow Jesus. (Yes, you read correctly. I wrote „not“.) „Please don’t follow Jesus, unless you have no where else to go! Don’t say ‚yes‘ to Him, until you said ‚no‘ to everything else.“ Because just when the Cross is the only thing we hold on to, the devision between God and everything else will not rip us apart. The world will not gently transition into the New Earth. We will see a cut. Death and Rebirth. Everything worldly will be burned away and only the Godly will prevail. That is, way we have to make sure for us and everybody else, that we are standing firmly on Christ and on Christ alone. And that takes time. It cannot be done with a simple „yes, I do“ in the form of a prayer.
I am not sure, why we tend to see non-christians as marks. Maybe, because we still somewhat feel, that we need to earn our redemption. Or it is, to be successful as a christian. The more I have to show for, the higher I am in the Kingdom? But aren’t we rather building our own kingdom on a worldly idea of self-worth? Jesus never talked anyone into following him. He never aimed for the „Ok, I’ll come with you.“ For He knows, that the real work just begins, when we follow Him. He never treated anyone like a mark. Never tricked anyone into saying „yes“. Never took them to His Heavenly Father to meet a quota, but always out of Love. He knows, what es best for us. And He loves us so much, that He has done everything to make it available for us. He had no personal win, but paid the ultimate price. Because He does not want to check a list, but is interested in me as a person. Maybe, just maybe we should follow His example.
