I was not a believer in Christianity for the first 20 years of my life and was regularly spoken to about the “wonders of salvation,” as they put it– “they” being those who believed in what Christianity had to say even though I didn’t. I always wondered why they just didn’t keep it to themselves; after all, couldn’t they tell I wasn’t interested?
Just give me a beer, a woman to be with, and some good music and I would be just fine. I am not a bad person so just leave me alone; at least, this is what I used to think. Whenever you have good news, don’t you want to tell everyone about it? When you met your first love, didn’t you want the whole world to know? If you were to win the lottery, wouldn’t you end up telling everyone that was around you? If you get a great new job, don’t you usually call someone to share the news?
When an individual comes to believe in Jesus Christ, it isn’t a bunch of philosophical precepts that he or she has embraced. Rather, it is a salvation in the truest sense. It means that someone has come to realize he or she is in rebellion against God and everything He stands for.
What do most countries do with those who commit treason? The governments either incarcerate the traitors for the rest of their lives or they execute them. Rejection of God is surely treason because mankind originates from Him: the DNA to form our bodies, the gravity to keep it in tact, air to keep us breathing, food and water resources to sustain our bodies, materials for shelter, materials for clothing, and all the other good things about life that we take for granted everyday.
What, then, does a human being deserve when he dismisses God, disregards His law (that is written on our hearts), then even goes so far as to say He does not exist and that evolution is our creator?
When someone recognizes his rebellion and turns to the Lord for forgiveness, it is natural that excitement would exude from Him. That exuberance is best expressed by sharing the joy found in Christ with others.
This excitement is often misunderstood as being pushy. But, it is simply the desire to see loved ones and acquaintances experience the same joy and freedom that the new believer has found in the love of Christ. It is unfortunate that a new believer’s zeal turns so many away when it is motivated by the purest love.