Our son related to me a story of our grandson at a local park. He was sitting at the playground in a little boat. Another child came in and sat next to him. Our grandson looked at the other boy and simply asked, "Hey! Do you want to be my friend?" They instantly bonded, played, interacted, and had fun. The next thing you know, the parents were interacting and forming a friendship. And it all started with an innocent desire and question.
Many Christians struggle with evangelism. What are the right things to say? How do you approach people? On what terms? As my son was telling me the story above, I went back in time to a era of my life where I did like my grandson. I rushed forward in time to when as an adult, I was in a church that prized personal evangelism. Never once did it cross my mind that I could just walk up to a random person and ask, "Hey! Do you want to be my friend?"
What does that look like in the eyes of Jesus? Does Jesus do that to us? If we are His disciples and His very own, does He want to do this kind of thing through us and to or with others—opening the door to another person by simply asking to be friends? Does asking to be some random person's friend break down the right barriers? What does that look like? I wonder.
Perhaps it is here that all of the adult conditioning begins. The cautions come flooding in. There are the warnings and the "you-might-get-hurt" comments. But with all of that, where is the adventure of being fearless in Christ and the Spirit of Christ in us? Does me getting hurt rise higher than His calling to help, give, love, serve? And how is all of that best rendered by Christ in Me through me to others—especially strangers and even my enemies?