By Brother Matthew Henson
In life sometimes we make what should be natural more complicated. We look for programs or books that will teach us how to be a better person or that will help us be better at talking to people about what is important to us. Yet, I have found so often, new parents and grandparents do not struggle showing pictures of their new child, giving all the details of this new bundle of joy in their life.
In our walk with Jesus and our teaching in the Church, we encourage people to share their relationship with Jesus with people in their lives and with people with whom they come into contact, even if they are a stranger. The response is often, “I don’t know enough to tell people about Jesus.” “What if they ask me a question I cannot answer?” “What if I say something wrong?” We struggle to know how to start the conversation or we think it is our job to “close the deal,” and fear we are not well enough versed to finish the conversation.
Toward the end of Brother E. Stanley Jones’ book, The Christ of the Indian Road, he writes:
“But is ‘teacher’ the right word? I wonder if ‘introducer’ isn’t better? I spoke to a Hindu student one night in the after meeting of a series and asked him if he didn’t want to know Christ. ‘Yes,’ he said, eagerly, ‘but I do not know how to go to him. I need someone to introduce me to him.’ I suggested that I should love to introduce him to my Master. I saw quite vaguely then what is clear to me now: my chief business and chief joy is to introduce men to this Christ of the Indian Road” (212).
In Acts 4:20, Peter and John are standing before the council because of their ongoing ministry proclaiming Jesus. They say, “We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” Our introducing people to Jesus begins at the point of our experience of him in our lives. When we think of ourselves as teacher, we will question our ability because we doubt our own knowledge. Introducing, though, does not require great intellectual knowledge; it begins at the point of experience.
In Brother Stanley’s first sermon, he tripped over a difficult word he had put in the sermon to sound smarter. After tripping up, he could not compose himself to continue. He headed to his seat, sermon unfinished. God spoke, “Haven’t I done anything for you?” Jones responded, “Why, yes, of course you have.” God spoke, “Then couldn’t you tell that?”
As we live each day, we are invited to share our story of God’s grace at work in our lives. We are invited to introduce people to Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit, know that the seed we are planting can come to full growth and maturity. We are invited to introduce people to Jesus. We are introducers and the best introduction we can give, is our own transformed life. Just as the parent or grandparent who is showing off the pictures of their new child does not fully understand all the intricacies of the human body or the full personality of this newborn, they still introduce people to their new child. We will never fully understand everything about Jesus, but this should not keep us from introducing people to Jesus.
How is God calling you to introduce people to Jesus? Who in your life do you need to introduce Jesus to this week?
Prayer: Lord, forgive us for complicating our sharing you with others. Help us be introducers who introduce people to you this week. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
