Do you like my shoes?
Every Friday, I work from a coffee shop and order a dry, whole milk cappuccino, always in a mug for here. The coffee shop is next door to where my church does Friday morning prayer, and it's a comforting and productive rhythm for me.
But there's something else I want to tell you about my Fridays.
Every Friday morning, she shows up, too - the woman with the shoes. I describe her that way because she always comes in with a different pair of shoes she bought for a bargain. Sometimes pants or tops, but ALWAYS shoes. Today's shoes were $12 and her pants were only $0.50. Here's the thing about this woman…
She doesn't care if I'm busy.
She doesn't care if I have my headphones in or am on my laptop.
She doesn't care if I am passionate about or even interested in footwear.
She's not worried about being loud or interrupting me.
I don't even have to be looking at her, really. She just starts telling me about her shoes while she stands at the counter, and anyone else who walks up is pulled into the conversation as she asks them, "Do you like my shoes?"
Today it has me thinking...most of us don't talk to people about Jesus this way. With simple excitement that bursts in without apology, or with joy that bubbles over and isn't afraid to ignore a social norm or two. When I share Jesus, I'm sharing about the ultimate eternal bargain. Telling people about the God who saved me, who loves me, who fights for me, who comes in relationship and power. Yes, building relationships with people has an important place in evangelism and ministry, but if the name of Jesus isn't on my tongue in my coffee shop conversations, something is wrong.
If she can talk about shoes like this, you and I should be able to talk about God like this.
In fact, Jesus calls us to "go into all the world and proclaim the gospel" and to "be his witnesses...to the ends of the earth" (Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8). Am I really doing that where God has placed me? Are you?
I'm not one of those "naturally evangelistic" people - I have to work at it. I'm more gifted in and comfortable with teaching people who already know Jesus about walking in covenant relationship, but that doesn't mean I'm exempt from pulling people who don't know Jesus yet into conversations with Him at the center. It's actually something all of us are uniquely called and uniquely qualified to do.
There may be more to say about this, but I’m out of practice with writing, so I'll save it for another time.
Until then, let's just get out there and open our mouths. Let's take our time and be present with people and share our simple excitement about Jesus, trusting He will do the rest.
