If you've ever heard anything about selling your home, you know they recommend that you stage the house. This is where you depersonalize your place so that the new owner can see themselves in it. They may not like your magenta dining room, or be able to see anything but the 1,273 Star Wars collectibles in the spare bedroom. You do everything you can so that they can see the house for what it is and what it will be with them in it.
Shouldn't we do the same thing when introducing people to Jesus. Jesus loves this person and wants a personal relationship with them, so shouldn't that be something they grow into together? Won't that look different than what your relationship with Him looks like? Same house, but with individual expression.
Instead, we bring so much of our own junk with us. We share God's love, but also our own views on different issues. We might share our story of how we were convicted about our own behavior, but also insist that they need to quit things they they're doing too. We share who Jesus is, but only if they'll believe in Him the way we do. They need to interpret the Bible the same way, and find the same causes important that we do.
We are the church and it is God's instrument to reach the people He loves. But the church is people and people are fallen and sinful. The church has the truth, but we have a lot of barriers to that truth too. Bring people to the church, and they'll be disappointed and hurt. Bring people to Jesus, and they won't be.
How can you start to share Jesus without all the personal baggage?
