Sitting by the fire of Christs love

Why do you evangelise?

Or perhaps a better question is:

Why don't you evangelise? 

The more I think about this the more I have to look into my own heart and see how I respond to these questions. Most the time my answer would be:

Why do I evangelise?: Because I feel like I have to or church told me to or that's what Christians do, right?

Why don't I evangelise?: Because I feel like have to or I just dont feel like it. 

I don't think I stand alone in this. That may sound odd. But I bet youth workers and pastors struggle with this too. Perhaps you sigh with relief when you hear my response?

I have been thinking about why this is and I have realised that when I am feeling most alive and on fire for God - in the sense that my affections for Christ are on fire is the time when I most want to tell people about Jesus. I want to tell people about Jesus when my heart is soft and melting with his love. Its when I am being reminded of the Gospel, when my heart is warmed to the truth of Christ, when someone sets Christ in front of me as the greatest joy in the world, where they bring about flames of adoration and worship to my soul because of the love of Christ.

I don't mean just knowledge of who Christ is nor "feeling" pleased with how I am doing as a Christian. Forget what I am doing and how my quiet times are going - they are not the object of my affections. I mean when we truly, deeply love Christ and are drawn to Him, seeing that he is lovely in the sense of all beauty, all perfection, all comfort, all satisfaction, all joy... if my heart can be kindled by the love of Christ which will then set my soul on fire for Him and to burn with deep love and adoration for Him alone - then there will be no escaping the desire to tell the world about the one whom I love.

So I ask:

Imagine if we heard sermons like that on Sunday?
Imagine if we fired up the Christian Union like that during the week?
Imagine if our 121s were like that?
Imagine if we as Christians were reminded of the Gospel daily, drawn to the love and depth of Christ so that our hearts are dripping with adoration for him...

Imagine how that would affect our lives. Our desires. Our evangelism. Our conversations. Our attitudes....

Lets have more of Christ. More affectionate, heart stirring, Gospel warming, sin cutting, soul healing, fire burning love for Christ in our conversations, sermons, seminars, 121s, outreach....

Are you sitting in the cold right now? You don't feel this love? Well why don't you sit by the fire of Christs love, remind yourself of the Gospel and His great love for you. Sit there until your heart has melted.

Richard Sibbes says:

" If God love us thus, what must we do? Meditate upon his love. Let our hearts be warmed with the consideration of it. Let us bring them to that fire of his love, and then they will be like hot wax within us"

Why do I evangelise?: Because the love of Christ burns in me and warms my heart so that I cannot help but share the Gospel

Why don't I evangelise?: Because my heart is hard and cold and needs to sit by the fire of Christs love until it melts