(Further reflections on “Andrew & You”—Sunday 7-Feb-2021)
Christians are not born, but made (by Jesus). Although they might be born into Christian homes, they do not automatically become Christ's followers. Christians are people who realized that they are sinners and there is nothing they can do to save themselves from eternal death and damnation and they are in desperate need of a savior, who is able to cleanse all their sins, sanctify them from all unrighteousness, save them from eternal punishment (due to their sins), and grant them eternal life which begins on earth and continues after their life on earth comes to an end.
Christians are Christ’s followers who are willing to follow Christ. It is a journey and a process where they need to come into a personal/intimate relationship with Jesus and usually through someone who does not only share with them about Jesus and God’s word, but also live out an active (not passive) faith (not in a vacuum or isolation) in the context of the Body of Christ--the local church and beyond.
It was Andrew who told his brother, Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ) and then brought him to Jesus, who looked at Peter and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called 'Cephas' which means Peter (and also a rock (John 1:41–42; cf. Matthew 16:18). There, disciples were made and the church of God was later established. We all should be grateful for people like Andrew.
You may have often heard someone or even yourselves, saying (one/all of) these things, 'I'm not an evangelist or 'I'm not good at sharing Jesus' or 'I'm feeling unprofessional or awkward if I share about Jesus' in my workplace or (deep inside) 'I'm afraid that I might lose some good friends when I tell them about Jesus' or (you self-talked/rationalized within your inner voices) 'My faith is a private matter' (Wrong! It's personal, not private) and the list of "creative" excuses can go on and on, from one year to another. There will be no end to the excuses on why some (if not many) Christians don't want to share Jesus. To a certain extent, although not everyone will be like “Peter,” but (I’m convinced) that everyone can be “Andrew.” You and I can be like “Andrew.” You and I can invite (not-yet-believing and the unchurched) friends to “come & see” where Jesus lives in your home, church, workplaces, hangouts, etc. You and I can “go & tell” people about Jesus in all of our social activities (on/off-line). The key is our heart for the lost (remember how we were lost and how God had sent someone/many to share with us about Jesus). A heart for the lost leads to prayers for them. And heart+prayer for the lost will be intentional in expressing/living out the faith in Christ. The sad reality is that we won’t pray for someone we do not love. We won’t be intentional to tell them about Jesus if you don’t love+pray for them. On this note, the sad news is that we all are guilty of this. But the good news is that we all can repent and ask the Lord to grant us a new heart for the lost. Lord, have mercy on us. We want to see you! We want to see how lost we were/are! We want you to grant a new heart for the lost, being an ambassador for you, and being an “Andrew” to someone whom you have been placing in our life. O Holy Spirit, we want to be empowered by you to be your humble witnesses (and not arrogant lawyers) who boldly “go & tell” others that “I met Jesus” and lovingly invite them, “Would you like to come and see Him?” — Pastor Lap
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