Being a parent is hard work! There’s sleepless nights, messy rooms, chaotic meals, tears and arguments, and if your home is anything like mine outright defiance. Why would you keep doing it? Of course, it’s not always like that (allow me some dramatic license), but the reason we keep at it, is because we love our kids.

Evangelism must have the same motivation. Without love evangelism becomes a duty. The Apostle Paul says that without love our words and our efforts are meaningless (1 Cor 13:1-3). In fact, God reached out to us because he was motivated by love. Jesus said, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. (Jn 3:16)’ Jesus loved us so much that he not only gave up equality with God and became one of us, he also gave up his life for us on the cross (Phil 2:6-8). Paul says, ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)’ The Apostle John says, ‘This is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 Jn 4:10)’ God became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ and he suffered and died, all because he loved us.

The Apostle John adds, ‘if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 Jn 4:11)’ What motivates outreach is not only God’s love for us, but also our love for the lost. Outreach must be motivated, not by fear, or guilt, or duty, but by love. The people that we are trying to share the gospel with need to know that we love them, otherwise they will sense our lack of sincerity and our efforts will be counter-productive. The question we have to ask ourselves is: Do I really love this person? Do I see them as God sees them? Do I really care about their eternal destiny? Do I want them to find the same forgiveness, peace, hope, and joy that I have found?

How do you grow your love for the lost? Here are three simple places to start:

1) Pray that God would fill your heart with his love for the lost.

Pray that the Holy Spirit would open your eyes, so that you might see people as God sees them. Pray for opportunities to show God’s love to people, especially those who have never experienced or even heard of God’s love before. Maybe you could choose one person you know who isn’t a Christian, and you could pray for that person every day for a whole week. Ask God to help you love that person like He does, to reveal Himself to that person, and to give you an opportunity to show His love to them.

2) Reflect on Jesus’ love for those far from God.

Over the next week read the following passages: John 4:7-29; John 8:1-11; Luke 7:36-50; Luke 19:1-9; and Matthew 9:9-12, and reflect on what God is saying to you. Ask yourself: In what way am I like Jesus? You could also reflect on Philippians 2:6-8, and what Jesus was willing to give up for our sakes. Ask yourself: What am I willing to give up for the sake of the gospel (see also 1 Cor 9:19-23)?

3) Connect with non-Christians.

Jesus made space for people far from God. Rather than avoiding sinners, he went out of his way to spend time with them. He was even called ‘a friend of sinners. (Mt 11:19; Lk 7:34)’ As you spend time with non-Christians your love for them will grow. How much time do you spend with non-Christians? Maybe in the next few weeks you could block out an evening, or a few hours on the weekend to build a friendship with someone far from God.

Kevin Harney, in his book Organic Outreach for Ordinary People says, ‘Love brought God from heaven. Love put Jesus on the cross. Love offered salvation to you and me. And love will drive us to our knees in prayer and into the world searching for those who are still lost.’ May the Holy Spirit grow your love for the love.