“Let us not love in word or
talk but in deed and in truth.”
– 1 John 3:18
– 1 John 3:18
The Mario Brothers…apparently that’s “THE”
costume this year as was evidenced by the masses that showed up to Morristown’s
community-wide Boo Fest extravaganza. I
think Mario & Luigi must have come through the FBC Morristown booth at
least a dozen times last night…except they all looked a little different in the
face! **Side note: wasn’t that video game popular in like the ‘80s? Crazy how fads disappear and reappear!**
Anyways…our church brought out our
mobile bus to this community event and created the coolest booth I’ve seen…a
slide booth! In order to get off the
bus, the kids had to slide out it! I got
to be in the bus as the kids prepared to slide out and let me tell you, 100% of
the kids had huge smiles on their faces as they realized we weren’t joking…we
had a real, bon-a-fide slide! I heard
this over and over, “THIS IS SO COOL!” I
never realized how many people showed up to an event like this and was so overwhelmed
that we were able to outreach to that many people over a 4 hour period. No, we didn’t preach to them, we showed love
to them…love for the community, love for the families, and love for the
kids. And I think that’s where outreach
starts…love.
“People
don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This was a quote by guest speaker (and
friend) Rabbi Greg Hershberg this past Sunday when he spoke at First Baptist
Morristown. It was an original quote by Theodore Roosevelt, but the point the Rabbi was making was that in
order to reach others for Christ, it is vital to build relationships with them. This quote rang over and over in my mind last
night at Boo Fest and really as I thought about outreach in general. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you
love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one
another. By this all people will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus isn’t just telling us to love one another;
He’s commanding us to love one another which means we MUST do it.
When we love others as He loved us, we are setting an example to the
lost around us that Jesus lives in us and is love thereby showing them that He
loves them too!
The lost don’t care if we have a Masters
degree in Christian education. It means
nothing to the lost that we have years of evangelism experience in the church. The lost couldn't care less about how many
people attended church last weekend. But
there’s one common concept that the non-believer will understand and that is
love. The average person knows what it
means to love someone or something and understands that if they are
shown love and care, then they are valued and special. I think the following scripture speaks so well to this
point, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have
prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and
if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away
all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned but
have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). As this
verse continues, Paul goes on to describe love…that it is patient and kind, it
doesn’t envy, isn’t showy, isn’t rude, rejoices in truth, that it “bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things, and endures all things,” and finally that it never fails (1
Corinthians 13:4-8 paraphrased).
As we reach the lost, let’s strive to build relationships with
them! I am seeing this at our seasonal
backyard Bible club as we are going to the same location, building
relationships through love and care with each of the children, and seeing those
relationships lead to eternal decisions…just a week ago one child came to know Jesus
through our efforts. I’ve seen that outreach through love works! Paul was right, “Love
never fails!”
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