Sharing the gospel may become a burden.  As we listen to our guilt, we hear it say, “You don’t share enough! You should share more.”  Our discouragement sounds so persuasive as it shouts, “If you were a good Christian, your sharing would be more successful.”  We even react negatively to the successes of others who share their faith.

When this happens to me, I find that I am looking at myself instead of at God.  So I change my posture and look up, remembering, I am called; I am commis-sioned; I am sent.  After all, the King of the Universe says to each of us, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So what do we do when we share the gospel? We share two things: 1) the “what” and 2) the “how” of being a Christian.  “What” does it mean to be a Christian? The “what” of Christianity is very simple, yet profoundly transforms lives.  This is what we share when we go through the booklet, Would You Like to Know God Personally?

When we share the gospel, we are simply giving information.  Most people do not know what Christianity is, so we ask, “Would you like to know what it means to be a Christian?”  We are not selling something, we simply give needed information.

In addition, most people do not know “how” to become Christians, so we ask, “Would you like to know how a person becomes a Christian?”  How does a person become a Christian?  Through a simple prayer that responds to each of the Four Spiritual Laws.  We do not attempt to persuade; we simply give critical information.

Our call and our immediate task is to provide data. Without data, people cannot become Christians.  But we cannot assume more than our part in sharing our faith.  Not we, but the Holy Spirit convicts.  This simplifies our task.  It removes the pressure.  It is as if we are giving out ice cream cones on a hot summer day to sweaty children at a playground, or passing out cool water to a work crew on a sweltering day. 

We open hearts and minds to love and hope.  We offer antidotes to fear and despair, guidance with maps for the lost, healing for sick hearts, rest for the restless.  But it is God who opens eyes to the data we present.

Before we talk, people are already looking for, desiring, longing to know Jesus. G. K. Chesterton says, “Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.”  The more broken the life or the sadder the story, the more desperate the search.  So patients come to us with symptoms–symptoms from an unrequited search.  Our patients want to find God.  He asks us to provide the data. God takes it from there. 

Sharing the gospel is one beggar telling other beggars where the bread is.

Professor of Medicine
School of Medicine
Loma Linda University

Contact Dr. Elder at:  helder@GoMETS.org.