What is it to share Jesus with a stranger? Is it just giving them a pass to heaven and wishing them well on their way? No. Of course, Jesus did come to offer salvation to everyone. But that salvation is much more than just a golden ticket. It is about belonging to God and doing His work in this world as He leads us. It is about showing active, practical love and welcome for the people we meet, even if they are strangers. To be people of God is to actively seek to meet the needs of those around us (James 2:14-17), as well as explaining what Christ has done for us.
The people in our churches and communities are not there by coincidence. We are not among them by chance. God has put each of us in a specific place with specific people for a reason. Let us make sure we talk to Him earnestly about this, so He can direct us to the strangers He wants us to serve and care for. And then let’s be ready to act.
There are many strangers around each of us who need to see the love of God. We need to be intentional, and reach out. Perhaps it could be the start of your ministry to speak to your church leaders about how you can be working together to serve and welcome the people in your community.
Perhaps you could:
- Serve the homeless or lonely in some way, maybe by providing meals, opening your home, starting a ‘drop-in’ centre or setting up a food bank.
- Serve those who are struggling with grief, loss, illness or disappointment in the community. Provide meals for them, spend time with them, offer to pray for them and remind them of the gospel hope we have.
- Set up language classes for the ethnic minority groups in your town.
- Make time to get alongside refugees and their families, maybe offering practical welcome packs, advice for creating CVs or to help them navigate meetings and filling in forms.
- Honour the older members of your church by visiting them during the week.
- Introduce yourself to the people in your church who you’ve never really spoken with, particularly those who are alone or ‘different’ to you.
The love and welcome of God is revealed in such ‘everyday’ actions! All these kinds of situations offer us the choice to shrink back in fear or to open our lives and the home of God to strangers.
This attitude of care and concern emphasises what the gospel is! And as we show God’s love to others and go about His work, we can be sure that there will be opportunities, and prompting from the Holy Spirit, to also explain God’s love in the Person and work of Jesus.
