As I try to reach out to my non-Christian friends at school, I tend to rely on argument- debating them and engaging them on a purely intellectually and rational level.  Although there’s nothing wrong with that- indeed, I need to work much much harder to dispel the lies of the world that have their grip on my friends-a problem arises because I tend to forget about the crucial ingredient in evangelism, the seminal part of Christianity itself- Love.

I need to imitate Christ by reaching out in love and letting the spirit work.  I may be able to win an argument, but unless my friend can see the love of Christ reflected in me, he’ll never be able to make that final step.

Love is key. Christianity without love is just dry religion. After all, love is what the Pharisees, whom Jesus reserved some of his harshest words for, ( calling them, on occasion, “white washed tombs,” “hypocrites,” and a “brood of vipers,”) could not understand.

As Apostle Paul so memorably wrote to the Corinthians, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”  (1 Corinthians 13)

Love is everything.  No only is it important in how we reach out to others- it’s also the crucial element in the way we relate to our peers- our brothers and sisters in Christ.

John puts it like this, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates is brother is still in the darkness.  Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.  but whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness, he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” (1 John 2)

The best way for me to witness to non-christians is simply to love my Christian brothers and sisters.  As a representative of the God of love, It’s entirely inappropriate for me to get into petty arguments and ego contests with my peers.  The clock is rapidly ticking down on my life, and there’s no room for me to be prideful, to pursue meaningless and pointless arguments.  (2 Timothy 2)  -My ideas of entitlement or posession have no place in the body of Christ- I don’t need to constantly remind my friend about the $5 dollars he owes me, and even though I may have a test on Monday, I can’t afford to miss out on the opportunity to connect with and love my peers that our weekend church activities provide just to study.  Further, I need to work to deepen my relationship with my peers- we need to go beyond just having superficial conversation about sports or music or what-have-you to a point where we can really trust each other with our issues and grow together by challenging and encouraging one another.

I need to shift from a me-centered worldview to one that centers on God and his people.

“by this all men will know that you are my disciples: If you love one another.”  (John 13)

Ultimately, it’s all about love.  We can put on a show every weekend, but there’s no point unless the love of Christ is apparent and palpable in our relationships.

Noah Kang, Alameda High School, Class of 2011