How Can We Reach Out to Others?

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:1-2

At my church we've been talking about making a commitment to pray for and reach out to others who don't know Jesus. Most churches talk about this same goal and most Christians know that the Bible commands us to share our faith with others through words and deeds. Unfortunately however, outreach and evangelism in the American church today rarely moves beyond talk; not because of a desire to disobey God, but rather because we either don't know how to share our faith or we fail to act courageously when opportunities to witness to others arise.

In other words, we're usually either not prepared to share our faith or we get scared and talk ourselves out of it. We worry that we'll say the wrong thing, or that others will react negatively, or even about what we'll do if the person we reach out to actually agrees to listen to us.

In the verses above God gives us two ways in which we can reach out to others. First, this passage encourages us to apply God's word to our own lives by living has a holy sacrifice, not being conformed by this world, but being transformed (not by us working hard, but by excepting our brokenness, recognizing our need for a Savior, and then relying on Christ for everything) so that we can discern the will of God. That's the first way we can effectively reach out to others - live out God's word. It's not enough to know what the Bible says, although that's obviously very important, but we must also apply what God has shared with us through scripture to the way we live our lives. It's about being prepared so that God can use us to reach those around us. It's about loving God so that we can love others.

Second, verse 1 says "I appeal to you." The Greek translation of "appeal" is parakalo, which means to come alongside others, like a friend would, or like a mentor would. That's the second way we can reach out to others, through real friendship. God is encouraging us to take the relationships with neighbors and co-workers beyond pseudo-friendship, where we're friendly with those around us but we're not really connected to them in any meaningful way, and to come alongside others when God provides the opportunity.

My prayer for me, my family, my church, and for the church in general, is for God's word to be lived out, not just known, and that Christians everywhere would be preparing themselves to come alongside others in friendship to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.