So many in the world today have never heard about the love of Jesus. When Jesus left this earth, His last command was that we go into all the world telling people about His love and salvation (Matthew 28:18-20). And yet 2,000 years later, while there are more professing Christians on the planet than at any other point in history, there are also more people than ever that do not know Jesus as their Savior. I have a great burden for those around the world who have not yet heard.
I also have great admiration for those courageous men and women who leave the safety and comfort of their current situation to go into extreme circumstances to teach the people there about Jesus. Not all of us can go to other nations. Our responsibility is no less than theirs. Because while they are going to unreached people groups, people who don’t know Christ surround us as well. Many of our friends, neighbors, and coworkers have not heard the Gospel. Since we are right in the middle of them every day, I have to ask, “Why don’t they know about Jesus?”
Why don’t they know the difference Christ can make in their lives? What are we waiting for? Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus wherever we go (Matthew 10:7; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 4:2). Why aren’t we doing that? We should absolutely let the love of Jesus shine through our lives in order to draw others to Him. But guess what? No matter how different we live, and no matter how much they might notice, they may never ask what makes us different. We have to tell them. I’ve heard (and lived) the objections. We don’t want to turn them off. But what if they never get turned on? Instead of worrying about losing the opportunity to speak into their lives later, why aren’t we seizing the opportunity to speak to them now?
Why don’t they know they are dead without Jesus? Is it because we’re afraid of being labeled a fanatic? We worry about our reputation and what our friends will think about us if we tell them the truth about Jesus. Yet, our friends are never shy about telling us their own beliefs. Why is it only Christians who seem to hold back out of fear of offending someone else? We have the truth! We have the answer to all of life’s problems. Knowing this, we have a responsibility to share the good news and help rescue as many as possible from a plight worse than anything we can even dare to imagine.
None of us has any guarantee of tomorrow. We do a great disservice to the Kingdom of God when we fail to live without urgency. A 2017 study of global death rates showed 6,500 people die every hour. How many of those die without Jesus? Keith Green used to say, “This generation of believers is responsible for this generation of souls.” By extension, I would say every one of us is responsible for the souls of those surrounding us. If we don’t tell them, who will? If we believe the good news of Jesus, we know it is too good not to share. Why haven’t your friends and family heard about Jesus? Why don’t they know? We have to tell them. Don’t delay. Tell someone about Jesus today.