Would You Rather?

Have you ever played the game "Would You Rather?" You give someone a choice between two undesirable things and they must choose one...for example, would you rather shave with rusty razor blades or do the chicken dance alone in the middle of a crowded mall?

I don't really know where I'm going with this, but Dayna and I had a little conversation of "Would you rather" the other night.

Dayna is our little evangelist. She goes up to complete strangers and asks if they know Jesus. If they respond with a yes, she inquires if they have asked Jesus in their hearts. If they answer no, Dayna always remembers them in her prayers at night.

Often, people answer yes to that question, and it leaves her wondering...she recently asked about someone close to us who said that Jesus is in their heart. (Disclaimer: I do not know the hearts of people, and have made it clear that this is something between that person and God.) Dayna asked me if that person really loved Jesus. I was put in a difficult position, because I can't lie to Dayna about something this important, but I don't want to color her opinion of someone we love dearly because I have my doubts.

So I asked her to think of someone that we KNOW loves Jesus. She thought of her Sunday School teacher Nora. I asked her how she KNOWS that Nora loves Jesus. Dayna's first response was "her expression." It's true. Nora is truly a joyful person. You can't meet her and not KNOW that she loves Jesus. We talked about some of the things Nora does. She goes to church, she tells others about Jesus, she reads her Bible and does what it says.

I shared with Dayna that Nora isn't a Christian because she does those things. There is nothing that we can do to be good enough (Rom. 3:23). Rather, Nora does those things because she's a Christian (James 2:14-26). Because Nora loves Jesus so much, she wants others to know Jesus, too; and while Nora isn't perfect, she tries to live a life that will glorify Jesus.

Then we talked about the friend Dayna was originally asking about. I asked Dayna does she KNOW that this person loves Jesus, or does she WONDER.

Dayna's prompt response: "I wonder."

I shared that only God truly knows our hearts, and it's not my place to decide if someone is a Christian or not. But, I put it back on Dayna (and I ask this question of you...and of me...)

Would you rather people KNOW you love Jesus, or would you rather they WONDER?

Hhmmm.....