Love as evangelism

Here's something that just hit me this morning as I've been reading a book by K. Azariah (this amazing 80-yr-old Indian guy I met while I was over there who is leading a huge Christian mission in multiple areas of India). The book, "Christ-Likeness: Love as Evangelism" has really started to spark some ideas for how we could do ministry in the Bay Area in a similar way to how he reaches hurting, poor, lost people in India.

The cool thing about India and its 700 million Hindus and 150 million Muslims (30 million Christians and 20 million Sikh's), is that they haven't turned off their minds to the idea of TRUTH. Hindus seek truth as they pray to many gods for protection and for their sins. Muslims believe in God, but have trouble with the Trinity; they believe in the ONEness of God, and don't believe that Jesus was crucified.

But the fact that they are willing to talk about God and they actually WANT Christians to pray for them (for healing because they know Christ was a healer) is definitely something we DON'T have in the US.

We can hardly mention God in public schools, let alone Jesus. You mention "God", or "prayer" and people shut down instantly. So how do we reach the unreachable in SF? What brother Azariah does in India is first show them LOVE.

One day at a train station, he saw a man who was deformed and on the ground without a shirt. He tried to talk to him but the man couldn't speak. So Azariah grabbed a towel from his bag and wrapped it around the man. Two students walked over to him and asked him if he was a Christian. Azariah asked, "why would you ask that?", and they replied: "Perhaps they might do it if they are asked to do it, they might do it just to show that they are kind, but you looked as if you are different"

Wow. How can we go into the streets of SF and show God's love without even mentioning his name (let THEM ask when their heart has been softened. We need to pray for that softening that only comes from God!) and yet them recognizing his love?

I just read 2 Timothy 4:2-5 and it talks about how we've come to a time when men don't put up with sound doctrine and gather up the teachers/teachings that suit their needs and make them feel good. I'm currently trying to discern when the timing is right to correct, rebuke and encourage. But I know that the first thing that has to come is LOVE.