While I was having my weekly prayer time with a brother on Monash Caulfield campus, God revealed to me his heart about how he sees a person.
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart"." (1 Samuel 16:7).
When we do outreach, do we see people as God sees them? God looks at the heart, not the appearance.
Have we hesitated to share the gospel to certain people before because of their appearance?
Evangelism restores the person we approach to who God wants them to be. A violent person might be a person who is inside in deep need of love and acceptance. By pointing to these people who they can be in Christ, God can transform their lives for the better.
The heart of the matter is 'love your neighbour as yourself'. If we love people, we would love to have them experience the loving relationship with God. In this way, outreach and evangelism are no longer to fulfill an obligation, but to release the true love of God to the broken.
Let’s learn to see people's heart as God does.
Charlie Lam
Clayton Science/Arts life group, Hope Melbourne Waverley Centre
