My eight-year-old niece and I had a chat about the resurrection the other day.
"There will be all kinds of animals," I said.
"Dogs?"
"Yup."
"Cats?"
"Yup."
"Bunnies."
"Yup."
"Monkeys?"
"Yup. And we'll get to play with them and always have fun. No one will be sad."
"Kind of like your second life?"
Second life. I like that. Of course, then she asked about our third life, and I explained that we wouldn't need one. We'd never die in our second life.
"Never? Not even when we're a hundred?"
"Not even when we're a thousand."
"Or a million?"
You see how the conversation went. Then my niece asked me, "And all humans will be there?"
"If they believe in Jesus."
"Oh. I hope Hannah believes in Jesus," she said. "She's my best friend."
"Well, you should ask her."
It struck me. That's the heart of evangelism--getting excited about our second life and wanting others to be there at the resurrection. I'm not saying we shouldn't be working with the Holy Spirit to see that future sneak into the present. I'm not saying feeding the hungry and freeing the oppressed and healing the wounded is not integral to the work of God's kingdom. I'm saying sometimes I've forgotten this childlike approach to evangelism.
I don't want to be one of those people knocking on your door with a tract that boils the Bible down to four pages with cartoons.
And so I've forgotten the excitement of bringing others into the resurrection, of wanting them to participate in this second life where "blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in the wilderness." I love to dream about the resurrection, but I've been selfish about it. I've been afraid to share it.
I've been afraid of what others might think.
Thanks for being honest about the fear; I feel that, too. I really liked this post a lot, by the way, and the reminder, and the fellow-feeling with your niece about really hoping my best friends are there, too . . .
we need a tape recorder going at all times.
They uncomplicate things. Faith is boiled down to its essence. It's exciting and contagious! I don't know why we ever fear sharing the Gospel with others, but we do. It's bazaar. It should flow from us as easily as an invitation for free ice cream or a super great sale at our favorite store. The treasure is SO MUCH greater than that, yet we hesitate in sharing it. Thanks for this, Heather. As always, your words challenge my comfort zone and spark a desire toward greater heights in my faith.
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