People of peace

I have recently come across some excellent terminology which has helped me to understand how I can better identify the people God has placed in my sphere of influence. If you're anything like me and you have tried to reach out and share Jesus with someone, it can be met in a variety of ways. Sometimes they are completely open, but other times its not so positive. This is pretty normal.

In my last post I discussed who the people are in our 'backyard'. But while our relationship or association with a particular person is ONE significant factor which influences their receptivity, there is another thought worth considering - is that person a person of peace?

A person of peace is simply someone who likes you. Someone who has invited you into their world without reservations. They know who you are and they have no problem with it. They like you and they are open to what you have to say.

I think sometimes we overthink how we might come across to people if we begin sharing some of ourself and our faith with others. Let's face it, we live in a very private world these days and people DO tend to keep to themselves. The difference for us however is that we have a life and story that is worth sharing.........in fact Jesus commanded us to go out and share it in the Great Commission. The Good News is certainly not something to keep to ourselves!

So, for me, the penny dropped the other day that I have people of peace in my neighbourhood, right on my doorstep, right in my backyard! I started to think about my neighbours. They all seem to like me. They know I work at a church. Our kids hang out together. I barrack for the same footy team. God's setting me up for success here.

So let me tell you about my back neighbour.......literally in my backyard. Our boys chat to each other over the fence and swap toys and occasionally I have a chat with the guy (we'll call him Jack). Over the last few years, we've shared tools, donated timber and talked about stuff. But the other day he invited us over for a couple of drinks on a Friday night. My wife and I discussed the implications for our kids being in bed at that time and decided....yeah, lets do it! So we put a baby monitor next to our baby's room, said goodnight to our other two boys and here's the fun part.......we put ladders on either side of our back fence and climbed over the fence and joined them! Nice entrance. We spent a couple of hours getting to know Jack and his wife, interrupted by the occasional murmur from our 10 month old, and we had a great time........in their home.

As it alludes to in Luke 10:5, a 'person of peace' is someone who invites you into their home. Once you've been invited into someone's home you can bless that family with the very presence of God that you carry as a Christian. I believe that as we have the power and love of Jesus within us that we change atmospheres wherever we go as we are aware of what the Holy Spirit is doing. You can just let it flow out. People pick up on the fact that there is something different and it makes them feel good.

We've actually got nothing to lose, cos as it reminds us in verse 6 of Luke 10, "If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you".

So who are the people of peace that God has placed in your neighbourhood or sphere of influence?
Invite them into your home. Or better still, maybe God will set you up and they will invite you into their home.

Take a risk and get to know the people around you at another level.

Being Relational

So who are the people God has placed in your backyard? Who do you have relationship with?

We all have a particular sphere of influence which can include one or a number of the following:

• family - primary and extended family members
• where we live - people in our neighborhood
• where we work - colleagues
• where we study - school, university, online
• where we shop - shopping centres, supermarkets
• where we exercise - sport/fitness clubs
• where we take our kids - sport, daycare, school, parties
• where we socialise - social media, BBQs, parties, etc
• where we worship - church (do we assume that everyone at church is a Christian.....hmmm)

In every one of these environments we have relationship with people. Obviously we are more relational with some than others but every one of those people needs Jesus......if they haven't already found him. 

'Relational' evangelism is about sharing Jesus with these people in our spheres of influence. We don't have to go and find people to share Jesus with........they are already there! God has already put people in our lives for such a time as this.......to see a reflection of Jesus in normal everyday Christians like you and me.

In fact, instead of sharing Jesus, let's just tone it back a bit.........and just 'be Jesus' to the world. 

"Now hang on a minute Paul you can't be Jesus". 

Well, yeah of course, but WE are ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor 5:20), we are the people who re-present the character (attitudes, words and actions) of Jesus to the world around us. Opportunities to share will flow out of consistent expressions of God's love towards others. No need to rush.

All we need to do is to be aware of the power and love of Jesus that lives INSIDE of us and let the Holy Spirit flow out of us onto others in crazy amazing ways. But here's the key......more often than not this happens through our obedience....our step of faith.....our courage. 

In coming months I will unpack some more specific aspects of how we can be authentic representations of Christ to others......so stay tuned. The gospels are full of brilliant illustrations of how Jesus connected with people with whom he had some form of relationship and also those with whom he had just met!

He's the model........so let's allow more of Jesus to flow out of us onto others in our sphere.

My backyard

Hi. My name is Paul.

There's a number of things in life that I love - my wife, my kids, my church, my friends, my footy team, my music, my guitar. More than any of these I love God.
He's cleaned up my backyard and given me freedom, life and hope through Jesus.

The reason I love God so much is that He loved me first.
His love is so unconditional and so profound that I feel compelled to share it with others. I want people around me to know this same peace, joy, kindness, goodness and love.

So I guess there's one more thing that I'm learning to love................people.  And I want to do this well. I want to be an authentic representation of Jesus to the people God has placed in my life, in my sphere of influence...........in my backyard.

Join me as I share some of my experiences, thoughts and practical tips on how to love the people in our backyards.