Step into Their Shoes: What Evangelism Feels Like to a Non-Christian

Have you ever thought, “My friends will figure out their faith on their own—they don’t need me?”

It’s easy to assume that our non-Christian friends will find their way to Jesus without our help. If this is you, our recent conversation with a brand new Christian may shift your perspective…

Ethan* had been living a deeply sinful lifestyle, then—praise God—radically turned his life around when he came to Christ. And when describing his experience of being evangelised to as a non-Christian, he said he “felt like a limp guy on a mat.” Here’s what he meant…

In Luke 5, we read about Jesus preaching in a crowded house. Then, something unexpected happened:

“Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.”

‍(Luke 5:18-19)

When Jesus saw their faith, He healed the man AND forgave him of his sins.

Ethan told us that this story resonated with him deeply. Why? Because of the friends carrying the mat.

As the “limp guy on the mat”, Ethan wouldn’t have reached Jesus if it weren’t for the friends who carried his mat, opened the roof and lifted him through to Jesus. He expressed a deep gratitude for those faithful Christians who showed him Jesus, over and over again, until he got it.

What a powerful picture of evangelism! Here are three common myths this story debunks:

1. Bringing your friends to Jesus isn’t always a solo act

In Mark’s account of this story, we read that there were four friends who carried the paralysed man’s mat (Mark 2:3). For Ethan, there were many Christians who walked with him at different times throughout his journey to Jesus. You don’t have to do it alone. Evangelism is a team effort.

2. Your role isn’t to “fix” them; it’s to carry them closer to the One who can

Sharing Jesus isn’t about convincing them with eloquent arguments or single-handedly transforming their lives. Just like the friends in the story, your job is simply to bring them to Jesus’s feet and allow Him to transform them. 

3. Sharing Jesus may take hard work, persistence, and creativity

When the friends saw the crowd around Jesus, they didn’t give up – they got creative! They climbed on the roof, removed the tiles, and lifted their friend through. Is there a non-Christian in your life God’s calling you to get creative with in your faith sharing?

Now we have a question for you: Whose mat are you carrying? Does Jesus want to use you to carry someone to His feet? It will take persistence. It may be difficult. And you may need to get creative. But you won’t be doing it alone.

Who in your life needs help getting to Jesus? And what are you doing to carry them to His feet?

*Names changed for privacy.