There are a lot of things that call for our attention in this world. A few things that come to mind are family, friends, vocation, health, and hobbies. Life is full of good things that we should give time and attention to, however I have found that the bulk of our time and attention tends to drift towards the things that we love the most.
If one loves to fish (and I do!), that person will be intentional in finding time for it. If one loves his family, that person will make time to be with family, even when life gets busy.
Inversely, if one lacks love for someone/something, that tends to move to the bottom of the priority list and seldom gets attention. Love is one of the great motivations in life that moves us to do things that we wouldn’t normally do otherwise.
Scripture teaches this concept in several places but one of the most famous passages is found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. He writes that Christian service without love is like “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1), followed by a great description of what godly love should look like in the life of the believer. He reminds us that love is the greatest virtue and should be pursued and practiced by all believers (1 Corinthians 13:13-14:1). As I ponder this, I wonder if we become so enamored with Christ and His Church that we have fallen out of love with the people He gave His life to save.
Matt Smethurst, pastor of River City Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, has recently written an excellent book on evangelism called Before You Share Your Faith. In this book, he dedicates an entire chapter to the subject of loving the lost, which has opened my eyes to the reality of just how much love drives everything we do. Like the author, I have long held the view that the fears associated with evangelism have been the main factor in keeping Christians from sharing their faith. However, Smethurst describes that fear isn’t the root issue and proposes that a lack of love is. The Bible says that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), and though the context is regarding divine judgment, the application can still be made that if we truly love the lost, nothing will stop us from sharing the gospel with them, not even the normal fears associated with evangelism.
I ask you to consider how much you love the lost around you. Does the fact that people are lost and headed to a Christ-less eternity cause you to drop to your knees and pray for them? When is the last time that you have wept over a lost soul? Friends, let’s renew our love for the lost and let that love move you to a greater commitment of your time and attention to seeking them out and sharing the gospel with them. My prayer is that God will instill in us a deep, abiding love for those He came to save. May God renew in you a love that moves you to stop at nothing in order to see people accept Christ as Lord and Savior.