Don't Wait Until You're Ready

The Samaritan woman at the well abandoned her water jar to go round up the rest of the village to come meet Jesus.

Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” ²⁸ The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ²⁹ “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” ³⁰ So the people came streaming from the village to see him. John 4:27-30 (NLT)

Principle: Don’t Wait Until You’re Ready

Many new believers imagine that they should wait until that magical day when they finally will be ready and fully equipped to share the gospel. This is partly the fault of the church. We think that sharing the gospel is more to do with having our doctrine right than it is with being “on fire” for Christ. It is partly our fault for buying into the notion that it is better to say nothing at all than risk making a mistake.

The Samaritan woman did not know much, but God used her to bring the entire village to Christ.

And this is not the only time that Jesus commissioned a new convert to be an evangelist. The Gerasene man whom Jesus delivered from many demons was immediately put into service, too.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” ²⁰ So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them. Mark 5:18-20 (NLT)

Didn’t Jesus realize that it is dangerous to put a new convert into the ministry, especially one who had been so unstable?

By the time we are thoroughly trained to properly share the gospel, we likely have lost contact with many of the people who most need to hear our message. This is because we stop “hanging around” with unbelievers and spend all our time with other Christians at church meetings.

The most opportune time for us to share our faith is when we first come to Christ, before our unbelieving friends relegate us to the “weird Christian” category.

Another reason we should start sharing our faith immediately is that we likely never will be quite so enthusiastic about Christ as when we are first saved. Some call this “first love” or the “honeymoon” period of Christianity. This is not to say it should be this way, but it often is. By the time disciples are thoroughly trained, they often have picked up plenty of excuses for not be evangelistic and become quite comfortable simply going to church, rather than actively sharing the gospel. I call this Great Commission drift.

Most of the American church is more in love with comfort than with sharing the gospel.

The night I came to Christ, I immediately began telling my friends that I just met Christ and that he is real. That is about all I knew, but it was worth sharing. Over time I have added to my knowledge and understanding of who Christ is and what he did for us, but my fire to share the gospel has never been stronger than it was on the very first night.