Proselytizing vs. Sharing Jesus

I have heard many Christians who work in the healthcare industry talk about their struggle with reconciling Christ’s mandate to share the gospel with their patients while being respectful and submissive to the institution they work for and the role they full. We know Jesus is the answer our patients need, but how do we bridge that gap?

I think part of the disconnect is the verbiage and connotations that are associated with those words. I’m talking about the word that makes every western Christian cringe- proselytize. Merriam Webster defines proselytizing as “1: to induce someone to convert to one's faith or 2: to recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause.” This definition implies coercion, which carries a negative connotation. 

Let me argue that there is a way to share Jesus with your patients that is not coercive. In fact, I would argue that coercing anyone to the gospel is not the aim of Matthew 28:11. According to Jesus, we are commissioned to go (obey), tell others about His good news, disciple (train, mentor, guide, sharpen) those who have chosen Jesus, without discrimination, to all peoples. 

The problem with proselytizing is the implication that one is convincing another to do something. However, my question is: where is there room for the work of the Holy Spirit in that framework? Proselytizing is dependent on the convincingness of the human making the argument. I would argue that Christ calls us to a better way. He calls us to be participant spectators. We participate in our obedience to speak the good news of Christ and we spectate as we watch the Holy Spirit work (or not).

Let me illustrate what I mean. Say for a long-anticipated date night, your significant other takes you to a murder-mystery dinner. The narrative of this immersive theatrical experience will happen whether or not you attend the dinner that night. However, if because you attended and are now thoroughly engaged in this mystery unfolding before you, you are now participating in the events of the night. Ironically, the outcome of the story unfolds before your eyes-wonderful, completely captivating, mysterious, and yet, you contribute absolutely nothing to the plot of the story. Still the experience is incredible and you rave about the date for days and weeks to come. 

That, my friends is what Christ is inviting us to. We are invited to the feast of the mystery of the kingdom of God. Our attendance neither contributes to the story that is unfolding nor the assurance of the actual event, and yet we are invited. IF we attend, we will have the privilege of being a participant spectator in the symphony of the Kingdom of God. 

Friends I want to encourage you to change your perspective. When you walk into a patient’s room and your heart burns to tell them about Jesus, do just that. The Holy Spirit can do the rest. This kind of spiritual care is not only obedient to the Lord but is respectful of your institution. It is simple, because our egos are removed from the equation.  There is no personal glory in merely delivering a message, but there is heavenly rejoicing when the Holy Spirit uses our meager efforts to reconcile souls to himself. 

And you know what friends? The icing on the cake is that we get to watch God do something incredible. Every opportunity we skirt over and every prompting we ignore doesn’t keep God from accomplishing His will, it robs you of experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit bringing the dead to life.