Where Does Evangelizing Begin?

As, Tom Cruise said in the movie, A Few Good Men, "It doesn't matter what I believe!  It matters what I can prove!"  (Or, Denzel Washington in Training Day.  Take your pick.)  I think it's a good philosophy that could apply in some ways to evangelization.  You can believe what you believe as strongly as you wish, but if you can't prove it with how you live your life, you're doing nothing.

Now, when you hear about evangelization, you probably think that's about people of faith just trying to bring the Gospel to non-believers, right?  Well, yes, that is a big part of it.  But, I think I would argue that believers need it just as much as non-believers.  Believers also often lose their way in life, and sometimes, it is the words or example of a fellow Christian that can help them get back on track.

Also, I don't think evangelization has to be overtly preaching the Gospel all the time.  Evangelization could also just mean showing love or kindness.  It has been said that "they will know we are Christians by our love," so that also needs to be taken into account.  Our kindness could change somebody's day or even their life.

Let me give you a recent example from my life.  I was on a retreat recently, and somebody I have known for awhile now gave a talk about how God has been working in her life.  But during the course of this talk, she revealed darker parts of her life where she started thinking things about herself that weren't true.  And the thing is, I knew her during this dark part, even though I didn't know what all she was going through.  But the point is, I could have refuted everything she thought.  But I never said anything.  Would her life have gotten a bit better sooner if I had said something then?  We'll never know.  Now, it's true that I didn't explicitly hurt her, but as Larry the Cucumber once said, "Sometimes, not helping is the same as hurting."  I actually apologized to this girl later on for not speaking up sooner.

So, you see?  Each of us has a responsibility to our fellow men and women to show them love and kindness.  It's not only a good idea, it should be our way of life.  Everybody needs to know that they are loved and cherished, and that should be our number 1 job as Christians.  

So, even if I were able to quote every Bible Scripture there is and pray with the best of them, it really doesn't mean a thing if I can't first do what Jesus said and "Love my neighbor as myself."  Only after I start with this step can I, as For King and Country eloquently put it, "Let my life be the proof of Your love."  

Some of you are probably reading this and thinking I've made some good points.  Others, more likely are probably reading this and thinking, "Man, if this gets any more cliche..."  Then you should probably stop reading this and go out to start evangelizing!  Seriously, go!