I have a neighbor who likes to bring me books. Now this neighbor and I are not good friends. We are the kind of people that wave to each other and maybe stop to have a five minute conversation. He's never been inside my house and I've never been in his. We don't really  have a relationship. I don't know where he's from, what he did for a living, if he has kids or what his hobbies are. I do know that we have polar opposite views politically. Sometimes he will bring me books. They are brand new and they are usually on his political view. From what I have read on the book jacket they spread fear about what (my) political party is going to do to end the world and freedom as we know it.

Now I hate politics anyway. I do my research at voting time and I vote the candidate I think will do the best job but I don't get really into it. I feel like most politicians are only after their own agenda anyway and don't really take into account the people they serve. But ultimately, I don't put my faith in politicians; I put my faith in God. God will control my future no matter what happens to this country of ours.

So I usually take the books, unread, to Half Price Books and sell them. This most recent time I tried to explain that I won't read this book. All I  had to do was look at who wrote it to know that I had no interest in reading it. He wouldn't take no for an answer, just kept saying "read it!" So I thanked him and he left.

I think to myself "why does this guy keep bringing these books? He doesn't know anything about me. I don't want to read his political garbage. I should take him a Bible and say 'Here, read this. It will show you how to live without fear of the current political regime.'" But then I started thinking which brings me to ...

How does this relate to God and the Kingdom?

When people try to evangelize by just handing out cards or books or stand on a street corner with a megaphone telling people they are going to Hell unless they repent, they are doing the same thing my neighbor is doing. They are trying to push their idea off on people who they don't know. I can't imagine this method works. In fact I often feel like this method probably repels more people than it attracts. They showed a picture in church one day of a guy with a megaphone at a college football game. He was trying to preach the gospel. There is this huge circle around him where no one is standing.

We aren't willing to think or believe something that is contrary to our own beliefs when someone is trying to blindly shove it on to us. I find personally that when people try to just shove their agenda down my throat that I dig my heals in and fight back.

That's why God comes to us where we are. He didn't shout out from a cloud "Repent and believe or go to Hell!" He comes to us each in the way that will make us want Him. For me He came through friends. He gave me a new set of friends who were seeking. I liked being with those people so I became a Seeker too.

It goes back, once again, to relationship. If we don't have a relationship with people they don't want to hear what you have to say. They aren't going to believe you. People need to see you doing it. They need to learn to trust you before they believe you. If we want our non-believing friends to come to know Christ we need to go and walk WITH them, not pull them or push them into it.

Think of a horse that is untamed. If you put  a halter on it and start jerking its going to buck and back away from you. But if you go into his pen daily and feed him and speak soothingly to him and pet him, he'll start to follow you around.

Just handing out a book isn't loving. If you know someone and you have a relationship with them and you say "I think you might be interested in this, I would love it if you would be willing to read it and then we can discuss it." is so much more inviting.

Its the old saying "you get more bees with honey." We need to be giving our non-Christian friends honey so they are attracted to us and THEN willing to see why we are different. Maybe then they will accept our invitation to church or to read biblical books. Maybe then they will be willing to give God a chance.