This morning during my quite time I was reading a story about Rick Warren and the example his dad had made for him before he died. The story really spoke to me and actually I could have written it myself because it is so similar to the life we are living right here in Ecuador. I wanted to share a part of that story with you, and I hope you get something from it like I did. I take no credit for the words written from here on out as they are not mine but those from a excerpt from Rick Warren.

Now, if you are going to reach one more for Jesus, you must, like Jesus did, spend time loving, serving, and befriending those who don’t know him yet. You cannot hang out only with people like you. Jesus spent so much time with “the wrong crowd” that it drove the religious crowd and legalists crazy. They mocked Jesus, calling him “the friend of sinners.” They considered that label a put-down but to Jesus it was badge of honor. I want to be like Jesus. And if religious people fail to understand, or criticize me for being friends with skeptics and atheists, straights and gay people, Muslims and Mormons, conservatives and liberals - then so be it. All I want to do it “Reach one more for Jesus.” God has never made a person he doesn’t love. God has never made a person Jesus didn’t die for. God has never made a person he didn’t create for His purposes. God has never made a person he doesn’t want in heaven!

My definition of “Reaching one more for Jesus” is this: You build a bridge of love between your heart and theirs, then you let Jesus walk across. You cannot bring enemies to Jesus. They must become your friends first. Before people trust Jesus they want to know if YOU can be trusted.

So, if people don’t understand why I often I speak to groups hostile to Jesus, and hang-out with people who oppose what I believe, so be it. If I am accused of being too-soft, too hard, to naive, too shallow, or too heretical because I build bridges to people who don’t know Jesus yet, it’s a small price to pay. I’m going to have a lot of friends in heaven because “reaching one more” mattered more than arguing with those who spend their time criticizing rather than evangelizing.

I will warn you: You’ll never reach many with the Good News until you let go of your fear of disapproval and guilt by association. Jesus cared about souls, not politics, and he was never politically correct.

I intend for “Reach one more for Jesus” to be the theme of the rest of my life. I invite you to consider it for your life, too, because nothing will make a greater difference for eternity. If you want to be used by God, you must care about what God cares about most: the redemption of the people he made. God wants his lost children found! Nothing matters more to God. The Cross proves it.

Is anyone going to be in heaven because you cared enough to cross a barrier and shared the love of Jesus with someone not a part of your little tribe? Go reach one more for Jesus.