When I was younger, I was part of a small band of friends: my “Besties!” We just couldn’t get enough of each other’s company or stop talking to each other. So much so that every day, after school, we would “conference” call each other on our phones and talk about all the things we hadn’t finished talking about in person.

Then, I had an encounter with Jesus at “Vacation Bible School” over the summer holidays. As I came to know Him more, I realised that I wanted to share God with my friends too. I loved spending time with them on earth, so I thought, why should I not have them with me in eternity as well?

So, I told them about God…

“God loves you, but you should quit so-and-so.”

“God loves you, but you need to do such-and-such.”

“God loves you, but…”

As you can imagine, that didn’t go so well.

The thing is I didn’t realize then that the way I shared the good news about God didn’t make it sound like good news at all.

I was the resounding gong and the clanging cymbal described by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (13:1). I was a noise that my friends came to despise. And the God I portrayed was a judgemental, holier-than-thou character out of an ancient book.

I needed to show them God’s love. Beyond the “buts” was the love that made Him willing to die on the cross for me and for them as well. Recently, I started thinking about what it might look like if I shared the good news about Jesus with the kind of love that He has for me. It would have looked like 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 in action:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

My friends didn’t need me to dictate the terms and conditions for following Christ. What might have helped is if I had told them that God loves them no matter what! God’s love does not depend on a “to-do list” or whether we are good or bad. There are no buts in God’s love.

So, instead of saying, “God loves you, but…” I could have told them that God longed to be by their side in every season of their life. I could have shown His love by sharing hope that brought them joy. Amid their storms, I could have added steadiness by speaking words that brought peace. Instead of judging them for their choices, I could have been a patient friend. And whether they were unkind or kind, harsh or gentle, I could have exhibited the real love of Christ through my actions. That would have helped them picture God’s infinite love.

My way of sharing the good news led to me losing touch with most of my “Besties.” But it taught me, the hard way, how to share God’s message of love with love. Now, when I get the opportunity to share, I ask myself these three questions as they serve as checkpoints for me:

 

When we share the gospel of Christ with someone, it can lead to a clash of opinions because of the different world-views, cultures, backgrounds and even language barriers that we may have. I learnt (the hard way) that mutual respect is essential at such times.

The Bible emphasises this aspect of peace as we read, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

This “peace” includes our interactions with those who have different opinions than ours.

Our work is not to “stuff the good news down someone’s throat,” but to help them grow and gain faith. While it is our desire that our friends and those we love experience Christ for themselves, this intention for peace frees us from the instinct to quarrel when others’ belief systems don’t compliment ours.

 

 

Pride is never God’s way. Jesus was the epitome of humility, and we should imitate His nature when we share about Him. Although the Bible records Jesus boldly declaring that He was the long-awaited Messiah (John 14:6), we never see Him declaring His Lordship with a sense of pride.

This is why in Philippians 2:6–8, we see that the greatest extent of His humility was that Jesus left His Kingship and became a servant and embraced death, even on a cross.

This must teach us to acknowledge our own shortcomings knowing that we have nothing to boast about. Our salvation is not because of us, but because of Jesus. This humble realization, I found, went further in winning people over than a proud too-good-for-you attitude ever could.

 

 

Finally, God’s love is best shared in love. God’s unconditional love is more compelling than any argument we could ever come up with. If we convey that love in our words and actions, it will go a long way in helping people see how meaningful a relationship with Him could be.

This is why Jesus gives us a new command saying, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). As followers of this new commandment, when we extend the invitation of Christ with love, His love envelopes those who listen too.

If you do this already, that’s great. But if this isn’t how you’ve been sharing so far, don’t despair!

Our efforts, though well-meaning, may at times be unpalatable, yet God understands our hearts and intentions. If His goodness depended on mine, I might have long been chucked out of His family. But like the father of the prodigal son, God waits patiently and longs to have mercy on His children, even though we don’t deserve it (Luke 15:11–32). In fact, the Bible says, while we were yet sinners, God sent his Son to die for us on the cross (1 John 4:10). God thought of you and me, to save us from ourselves, even when we did not know we needed saving.

 

That is the greatest love story! It is such good news and of course we’ve got to share it. But when we do, let’s not forget the key ingredient in it all: Love. The next time you share God’s good news to a friend, colleague, or neighbour, quickly check to see if you are sharing with peace, humility and love.