Was Jesus Obsessed With Trying to Convert People?

Short answer: no

Photo by Josue Michel on Unsplash

(A three-minute read.)

My friend Nathan sent me something a few weeks ago that I thought was brilliant. It’s by Bob Goff, from his book, Live in Grace, Walk in Love, which is a “daily devotional” book.

If you don’t know anything about Bob Goff, he’s quite the guy. Talk about an extrovert on steroids! I read his book, along with a book club I led, Everybody Always, a few years ago. Nothing he writes is theologically-dense, but it’s pretty inspiring.

I thought I’d just share the whole quote Nathan sent without commentary this week.

I used to think we were supposed to do nice things for people so we could get their attention and tell them about our faith. Here’s a scenario: Someone needs food, and you meet that need in a tangible way. Then, once you’ve helped them, you tell them about your faith—and if everything goes the way you were hoping and they are willing, you ask if they want to repeat a prayer after you. 

Jesus never healed someone and then asked if they wanted to say a prayer to invite Him into their life. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see Him feed people simply because they were hungry, not because they recognized their desperate need for Him. He healed people because they were sick and celebrated their wellness, not the path to getting there. He turned water into wine because the bride and groom needed more wine to celebrate, not so the celebration would become about Him. Jesus met the needs of people simply because He loved them, no strings attached. We’re not always good at that. When we tie a religious experience or expression to our love, we turn our faith into a business deal. 

I don’t have these things figured out yet, but I’ve been on the lookout for ways to not make a business deal out of Jesus’ deity. We have an organization that builds schools and safe houses and tries to get children out of some really difficult circumstances. When it works, we don’t ask people to pray with us once they’re free. We just celebrate their new lives. We don’t limit the opportunity for a child to get an education to the kids who believe in Jesus. We don’t think we lead people to Jesus. We think Jesus leads people to Jesus, and what we have the opportunity to do is to love people without an agenda. 

All this doesn’t make what we do less worthy or more worthy. It just keeps what we do an expression of our faith, not a transaction. Most people know we love Jesus, and sometimes people ask us about Him. That’s terrific. We’re always happy to talk about Jesus because He’s our source of joy and excitement in life. But there’s no undisclosed agenda we have going on behind the scenes. Are there things you’re unintentionally doing that feel transactional with your beliefs? Be confident in this. Every act of love is a profession of faith because it whispers His name.

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Shawn is a pastor in Maine, whose life, ministry, and writing focus on incarnational expressions of faith. The author of four books and a columnist for Adventist Review, he is also a DPhil (PhD) candidate at the University of Oxford, focusing on nineteenth-century American Christianity. You can follow him on Instagram, and listen to his podcast Mission Lab.