I want to be so excited about the Gospel, I cannot help but speak of what I’ve seen and heard (cf Acts 4:20). That’s evangelization.
His excitement was unmistakable. We were minding our own business, but he was not. As we examined the options of frozen hamburgers, he interrupted us.
“I’ve been looking for these for five months!”
His bright eyes met ours as we looked up to see where this voice had come from. His white teeth gleamed, his mouth open wide with a grin.
“Five months!” he repeated, gesturing into the frozen food case next to ours.
I looked at where he pointed. Next to our frozen burger options sat his. Beyond Burgers. I had just passed the Costco sample lady at the end of the aisle who had been plating them as her daily offering. Having just enjoyed a taste of vanilla ice cream on the previous aisle, my heart had been a little disappointed by her sample.
Smiling back at him, I said something about being happy he had found them. He continued excitedly. “Can you believe it? I’ve waited five months. I looked for them every time! We don’t eat meat…” he explained as he pulled a second, then a third, then a fourth bag out of the freezer. “And these are so good!”
We pulled our sirloin burgers out of the case and bid our excited fellow shopper adieu. He probably was about to tell the next person in the aisle about his good fortune. It was clear his entire day had been made by Costco’s decision to restock those Beyond Burgers.
And I was tempted to go back to the sample lady, just to give them a try.
Unknowingly, that man had been an evangelist for those burgers. His excitement had burst forth, unable to be contained. He did not push them on us, nor did he seem to judge us for our choice. He didn’t have to. His joy spoke.
I want to be as excited about the Gospel as that man was for his Beyond Burgers.
I want my joy to evangelize. I want to be so happy about the Gospel, I cannot help but speak of what I’ve seen and heard (cf Acts 4:20). That’s evangelization. I want my love of Jesus and what he has done for me to spill out to strangers. Not because I’m better than them, but because I want them to know what I know. I want them to be changed how I’ve been changed. I want to share what has been shared with me.
If it’s truly the Good News, why aren’t we as Christians doing a better job sharing it?
Has the Gospel changed our lives? Hopefully, it’s changed our lives more than the discovery of a Costco restock. So where is the joy and excitement?
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