The single greatest way we can COME ALIVE in our relationship with Jesus as individuals and corporately as a church is very simply this:
Constantly invite people to follow Jesus.
Whether that is through an invitation to a Sunday Experience or a conversation during our lunch hour, nothing makes us COME ALIVE like giving people a chance to say yes to Jesus.
There’s three reasons why that’s the case:
#1- It’s what we were made to do.
When we step into what we were made to do, it brings us to life.
Think about the first time you did something and you felt you were made for that very reason. I remember having that feeling as a baseball player in high school and college. There was something special about stepping between the lines- as if I was meant to do it, and I was made for it.
Another way of thinking about that terminology is our “purpose”- and Jesus defined our purpose in Acts 1:8- “You will be my witnesses.” In other words, they were to share with others the news of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and teachings so that those who heard could follow. They were to be evangelists- sharers of the Good News.
That’s the purpose of us as individual Christians and, by extension, the purpose of the church as a while. Inviting others to follow Jesus is what we were made to do.
#2- It fills us with a sense of anticipation.
One of my favorite things to do is go to see my favorite band, Skillet, in concert. One of the coolest things about that experience is the moments before the band begins playing. The lights go down, and you can feel it in the crowd: anticipation. There’s the question of “What’s about to happen?” mixed with the knowledge that it’s going to be AWESOME.
When we regularly give people a chance to follow Jesus, whether by invitation to church or in a personal conversation, it gives us a sense of anticipation. We know that God wants to save people- it’s why He sent Jesus into the world (John 3:16). We know He DOES save people- and when we give people the chance to say “Yes” to Jesus, it fills us with a sense of anticipation- not knowing what will happen, yet knowing that God is about to do something AMAZING.
How much different would our Sundays be if we came in with THAT mindset? Can you imagine the excitement in the air each week?
Inviting people to follow Jesus moves us away from “It’s just another Sunday,” to “What might God do THIS Sunday?”
#3- It forces us to depend on Jesus.
When we begin inviting people to follow Jesus, one thing becomes incredibly clear:
We can’t “make” anyone follow Jesus. Only God can do that (John 6:44)!
None of us can force anyone to come to church, let alone decide to follow Jesus. That understanding forces us to be far more dependent on Jesus than we often are because it brings home to us our complete inability to change someone.
Only Jesus can do that.
That forces us to prayer. That forces us to dependence on Jesus. And when that becomes our posture, the benefit for us personally is we become closer with Jesus.
And if Jesus is life itself, closeness with Jesus makes us COME ALIVE.
If you’re tired of a faith journey that is going through the motions, start to invite people to follow Jesus. You’ll notice that simply doing that begins to make you COME ALIVE!