a contagious heart

We begin week two of our “Developing a Contagious Faith” series with a story, Lee Strobel. Lee tells of a Christian friend of his named John, who had taken a routine business trip to Atlanta. John said, “Everything was going according to schedule, and I decided I would stop into this little sunglass shop at the airport and buy some sunglasses. So I went into the shop, picked out some sunglasses, paid for them, and started to walk out of the store.
“As I was walking out the door, I had one of those nudgings from God. I just knew I had to turn around, go back into the store, and talk to the cashier about Jesus. I just knew I had to do it. But,” he said, “how could I? On what basis could I get into a spiritual conversation with this stranger? I’d already made the purchase. So I ended up using the worst transition into a spiritual conversation in the history of evangelism.”
Lee said, “Uh-oh. What happened?”
John replied: “I went back into the store and picked up some sunglasses to try to buy some time while I figured out what to say. Finally, I said to the guy, ‘Sunglasses, huh?’”
“He was reading a newspaper at the cashier’s station. He looked at me and said, ‘Yeah.’”
“I looked through the sunglasses and said, ‘Uh, isn’t it great that, uh, these sunglasses can, like, um, protect our eyes from the brightness of the flames of the sun?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ Then I blurted out: ‘Well, wouldn’t it be great if we had something that could protect us from the flames of hell?’ As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I couldn’t believe I said that!
“The guy set down his newspaper, looked me in the eye, and said, ‘You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately.’ I was shocked! I said, ‘You have?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’”
So John started talking to him about Jesus. He talked about forgiveness and grace and eternal life, and tears started flowing down this cashier’s face. Then in a prayer of repentance and faith, right there at the counter of the sunglass shop, that man received Jesus Christ as the forgiver of his sins and the leader of his life.
John said to Lee, “It was unbelievable! The day started out so routine, so normal, so average. Who would have known that it would end up in such an adventure?”
That’s what the Christian life is like when you develop a contagious heart—that is, when you yearn to let God use you to reach others, and you make yourself available to talk about Jesus as opportunities arise and as the Holy Spirit prompts you.
This is the antidote for a dry Christian life. When you want to share your faith, that’s when your prayer life is at its most fervent, because you’re praying to God for help; it’s when your Bible study becomes its most intense, because you’re not just looking for abstract theological truths, but for wisdom that can help your seeking friend find Christ; it’s when your dependence on God is at its greatest, because you know that apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, there’s no way you can bring about the conversion of anybody.
This is the real adventure of the Christian life. So how can we live on the edge, ready to share your faith? One way is to think about how Jesus would reach out to others if he physically lived in our house, or went to our school, or worked in our office, or laboured on our job site. What could we learn from the Master?
Because Jesus would look at his neighbours differently than we often do. He’d see them through heaven’s eyes. And if we could see them even a bit like Jesus does, that would not only change us, but the result would radically impact our neighbours.
That’s what Dr. Jack Sternberg found. He was a cancer physician from a conservative Jewish background and was very far from God. Listen to what he wrote about an incident that occurred when practicing medicine in Arkansas:
“One woman with terminal breast cancer was in her early thirties, with a husband and young child whom she would soon leave widowed and motherless. Yet she seemed more concerned about my spiritual welfare—in my knowing Jesus—than the fact that she was dying. She saw my lostness, my separation from God, as a greater tragedy than her own illness. She trusted this Jesus, then and for eternity. God had allowed illnesses to ravage her, yet she still loved, worshiped, and followed him. She seemed confident about her future and genuinely concerned about mine. That overwhelmed me.”
Dr. Sternberg ended up giving his life to Jesus—and it makes me wonder, “What if I cared that much about my neighbour?” Because, you see, Jesus cares that much for you and me. He saw our lostness, our separation from God, as a greater tragedy than his own brutal execution on the cross. That’s why he was willing to die for us so we can be reconciled with God.
So how would Jesus reach out if he physically lived in my house? I think there are many lessons he would teach us. The first might be this: before talking to his neighbours about their heavenly Father, Jesus would talk to his heavenly Father about his neighbours.
In other words, he would pray, just as many of you prayed for your friends this week. This kind of prayer was the pattern throughout Jesus’ life—before he embarked on anything of importance, he spent time in prayer. In fact, John Stott has pointed out, Jesus’ prayers for lost people continued right up until his final breaths on the cross. As the imperfect tense of the Greek indicates, Jesus didn’t say it once, but he kept repeating it over and over again, all through the torture of the crucifixion: “Father forgive them; Father, forgive them; Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
And if Jesus lived in my house, I know he’d pray consistently, specifically, and fervently for his lost neighbours. The question is, “Are we?” Or have we given up?
Lee Strobel tells about getting ready to baptize a woman during a service at Willow Creek. He said, “Have you received Jesus as your forgiver and leader?” She smiled and said, “Oh, yes, I have!” Then Lee did something unusual: he turned to her husband, who had accompanied her, and asked, “Have you received Jesus?” He looked at Lee for a moment and then suddenly burst into tears, weeping and sobbing. He replied, “No, I haven’t, but I want to right now!” So right there, in front of thousands of people, this man repented of his sin and received Christ—and then Lee baptized the two of them together!
Afterward, a woman came running up to Lee in tears, threw her arms around him, and kept sobbing, “Nine years! Nine years! Nine years!”
Lee said, “Who are you? And what do you mean ‘nine years?’”
She said, “That’s my brother who you just led to Christ and baptized. I’ve been praying for that man for nine long years—and I’ve not seen one hint of spiritual interest all that time. But look what God did today!”
Lee said his first thought was, “There’s a woman who’s glad she didn’t stop praying in Year Eight.” But the truth is that some of you have been praying longer than that for a lost friend or neighbour or family member or colleague. And you’ve given up hope. That woman would say to you: Don’t stop. Keep lifting up that person to the Lord.
Now, I’ll admit I don’t know everything about prayer. And I understand that people have free will and can decide for themselves if they want to follow Christ. But I’m just naïve enough to believe James when he says that the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. I like the way Mother Teresa put it: “When I pray, coincidences happen; and when I stop, they don’t.”
Let me ask you this: who have you stopped praying for? Who did you once pray for regularly, but lately you’ve given up on? Bring that person’s face to mind—and then use this as an impetus to bring them back before the Lord in prayer.
Second, if Jesus lived in my house, I believe he would assure his neighbours that his door would always be open for questions.
I can’t think of a single incident in the Bible where Jesus put anyone down, who came to him with a sincere question. In fact, Gary Habermas has used the story of John the Baptist to make this point. If anyone knew the identity of Jesus as being the unique Son of God, it was John the Baptist. John the Baptist once pointed to John and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John baptized Jesus and saw the heavens open up and heard the voice of the Father say of Jesus: “You are my son, with whom I am well-pleased.” John once said boldly and firmly about Jesus: “I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God.”
But then John gets thrown in jail. What happens when tough times come? Often doubts begin to creep in. So John sends a couple of his disciples to track down Jesus and ask him if he’s the One they were expecting or are they to look for someone else?
So how does Jesus react? Does he criticize John for daring to raise a question? No, he tells the followers of John in Luke 7:22: “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” In other words, go back and tell John about the evidence you’ve seen with your own eyes that convinces you of my deity.
Now, does this poison how Jesus looks at John? On the contrary, it was after that incident when Jesus declared: “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John!”
It’s okay to ask questions. And we, as Christians, need to be ready to help our friends get answers. We’re commanded in 1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
Because when we’re not ready to help our friends with their questions, what happens? We shy away. Yet so often people have just a few questions that are sticking points in their spiritual journey.
The good news is that we have truth on our side! Willow Creek, the church I mentioned earlier, staged a major debate and allowed the spokesman for American Atheists, Inc. to have their best debater stand on their platform and proclaim the case for atheism. Then they had a Christian present the case for Christ, and the two debated each other—and then the church just let people make up their own minds.
They actually had people vote. Of the people who came into the auditorium that evening as atheists, agnostics, skeptics, or members of another world religion, after having heard the case for Christ and the case for atheism, more than eight out of ten said the case for Christianity was stronger. Forty-seven people walked in as avowed skeptics, heard both sides, and walked out as followers of Jesus! And not one person became an atheist!
Friends, we really do have truth on our side! I’m not saying we need to get into debates with people; instead, it’s much more fruitful to get into discussions, where we listen to their viewpoint and gently and respectfully present ours. Lee Strobel has written several books to help you learn the evidence for Christianity—such as The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator—and his web site, www.LeeStrobel.com, has hundreds of free video clips in which experts discuss answers to the toughest objections to Christianity. We need to be prepared so we don’t become an obstacle to people’s faith, but we become a conduit for the truth of God.
Third, if Jesus lived in my house, he wouldn’t just share his faith; he’d show his faith.
In other words, talk is cheap. Jesus didn’t just say he loved the world; he showed his love by being servant. He served the blind by restoring their sight, he served the lepers by restoring their health, and in the ultimate act of servanthood, he gave his life to pay for the sins of the world.
And when we serve others as Jesus would, when we sacrifice for others as Jesus did, and as we put our love into action in tangible ways as Jesus modelled, this opens otherwise impervious hearts to the gospel.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 (TNIV): “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” The Greek word for “good” doesn’t merely refer to good as opposed to bad; it also has the connotation of “winsome” and “attractive.”
So Jesus is telling us: “Serve other people in a winsome and attractive way that causes their eyes to look heavenward toward the God who motivates you, against the grain of our me-first culture, to sacrificially serve them.”
When we serve the very real and tangible needs of other people, inevitably this opens up opportunities to talk to them about their very real spiritual needs that they may not even realize they have. People are more open to the gospel when we show them that we care rather than just say that we care.
So what if we all sort of got our “compassion radars” scanning our neighbourhoods, schools, and workplaces—searching for ways we can reach out to help people in need? Who knows how many spiritual conversations would result?
Finally, if Jesus lived in my house, he would be authentic in the way he related to his neighbours.
Jesus wouldn’t just communicate the gospel; he would live it out in front of his neighbours. There would be a consistency between his beliefs and his behaviour, and between his character and his creed. And the question is: is the same true of us?
If you’re a Christian, then you know your neighbours have their “hypocrisy radar” scanning your lives 24/7. What are they looking for? False piety. A holier-than-thou attitude. Hypocrisy. Saying one thing but doing another. What are they picking up on their radar screens? Because here’s the truth: few things can repel a person from God as efficiently as an inauthentic Christian.
That was especially true for Maggie. She was poisoned against God and the church because of the abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of people who claimed to be Christians. In fact, here’s how she put it in a letter
“The Christianity I grew up with was so confusing to me even as a child. People said one thing but did another. They appeared very spiritual in public but were abusive in private. What they said and what they did never fit. There was such a discrepancy. I came to hate Christianity and did not want to be associated with a church.”
Can you see how people repelled her from Christ? Well, something very interesting happened to Maggie. She read about the debate they had at the church between a Christian and an atheist. She came in order to see the Christian humiliated. But, instead, the Christian won. So she started asking questions. Finally, she got into a small group made up of two Christian leaders and several spiritual seekers who were investigating the faith. Listen to what Maggie wrote as she described what she needed the most from the Christians who led her group:
“When I came to the church and to my small group, I needed gentleness. I needed to be able to ask any question. I needed to have my questions taken seriously. I needed to be treated with respect and validated. Most of all”—now, listen carefully to this—“I needed to see people whose actions match what they say. I am not looking for perfect, but I am looking for real. ‘Integrity’ is the word that comes to mind. I need to hear real people talk about real life and I need to know if God is—or can be—a part of real life. Does he care about the wounds I have? Does he care I need a place to live? Can I ever be a whole, healthy person? I have asked questions like these. And I have not been laughed at or ignored or invalidated. I have not been pushed or pressured in any way.”
She added: “I don’t understand the caring I’ve received. I don’t understand that the leaders don’t seem afraid of questions. They don’t say things like, ‘You just have to have faith’or ‘You need to pray more.’ They don’t seem to be afraid to tell who they are. They just seem genuine.”
Then Maggie ended her letter with a poem that she wrote for the two Christians who led her group. But I think this is relevant to every Christian everywhere—because it’s the heart’s cry of someone far from God. What do seekers want and need from us? How can we best reach out to them? Listen to the words of this young nurse. Imagine she’s saying them directly to you:

Do you know,
do you understand
that you represent Jesus to me?
Do you know,
do you understand
that when you treat me with gentleness,
it raises the question in my mind
that maybe he is gentle, too.
Maybe he isn’t someone
who laughs when I am hurt.
Do you know,
do you understand
that when you listen to my questions
and you don’t laugh,
that I think, “What if Jesus is interested in me too?”
Do you know,
do you understand
that when I hear you talk honestly
about arguments and conflict and scars from your past
that I think, “Maybe I am just a regular person
instead of a bad, no-good little girl who deserves abuse.”
If you care, then I think maybe he cares —
and then there’s this flame of hope that burns inside of me
and for a while I am afraid to breathe
because it might go out.
Do you know,
do you understand
that your words are his words?
That your face is his face
to someone like me?
Please—be who you say you are!
Please, God, don’t let this be another trick.
Please let this be real this time. Please.
Do you know,
do you understand
that you represent Jesus to me?

It can be devastating when you first hear that poem, because you think of all the times you have been too busy or too preoccupied to be like Jesus would be if he lived in your neighbourhood. It’s convicting.
Lee was both convicted and encouraged when he read Maggie’s powerful poem, and wanted to read it to the entire church to encourage them to reach out to others. So he called Maggie and asked for her permission.
She said, “Oh, Lee, haven’t you heard?”
His heart sunk. He thought, “Oh, no! What inauthentic Christian has she encountered that has repelled her again from God?”
With discouragement in his voice he said, “No, Maggie, I haven’t heard. What happened?”
“No, Lee, it’s a good thing,” she replied cheerfully. “On Tuesday night, I gave my life to Christ!”
Lee couldn’t believe it! He was thrilled. He said, “Maggie, I’m just curious: what got you across the line of faith? What facts did you learn that convinced you this was true?”
She said, “It wasn’t like that with me.”
“Then what was it?” Lee said.
She seemed almost embarrassed. She sort of shrugged over the phone and said, “Well, I just met a whole bunch of people who were like Jesus to me.”
What a lesson for all of us! You know what? We don’t have to have doctorates in theology to reach out to the Maggies in our lives. We just need to have contagious hearts. Ones that long to be used, and that lead us to do what we can do for others—what Jesus would do. We can pray for people who are far from God. We can dialog with our seeking friends and help point them toward the truth of Christ. We can find ways to serve others so that the door might be opened to spiritual conversations. And we can simply be authentic about who we are—sinners saved by grace.
Before we end, let me urge you to be sure to be here next week, as we take the next step in “Developing a Contagious Faith,” and talk about how we can build and deepen what we’ll call “Contagious Relationships” with the Maggies of our lives. And be thinking and praying about who you’ll invite for the final weekend of this series, on [date]. It’ll be an outreach weekend designed especially for the friends and family you’ll bring.
If you are a Maggie, and you’re here figuring out what to think of Jesus, the Bible, or the Christian faith, I want you to know we’re so glad you’re here, and we’d enjoy meeting you and talking about any questions you might want to discuss after the service. Just go to [give details about where they can meet you or your team].
Finally, be sure to attend your small group [or Sunday school class] this week, where you’ll be in session two of the Becoming a Contagious Christian course. You’re going to be really encouraged as you discover ways that you can share your faith that fit your personality and your natural communication style. It’ll be liberating to you!
Let’s close in prayer …