Big Yes, Little Yes, Healthy MaybeНамуна

The Big Yes

If you’ve ever proposed to someone, it’s likely you knew the person you were proposing to, and you didn’t instantaneously go from being strangers to being fiancés. Still, the big question – and the Big Yes you hopefully got in response – was important and worthwhile. Similarly, as much as we need to respect the journey of faith each individual embarks upon, we also need to create moments in which people can make a definitive decision for Christ. Saying a Big Yes puts a road marker on the journey and adds assurance and validity to the process of growing in faith.

You may have come across differing schools of thought when it comes to evangelism. Some think we should just preach to people and make strong appeals for them to accept Jesus; others think we should just love people to the cross through relationships and living by example. Of course, both methods have merit, and it’s dangerous to use either one of these methods exclusively.

I believe more than ever in the Big Yes moment. We still need to call people to say a wholehearted yes to giving their lives to Christ and following Him. We need to create more moments for this, not fewer. We also need to recognise that when a person says a Big Yes to Jesus, there’s a lot going on both spiritually and cognitively. It’s an enormous, all-encompassing decision too big to fully or immediately comprehend. It’s crucial to get a person to confess what they actually believe in that moment – not what we hope they’ve grasped and taken to heart. If you think back to when you became a Christian, it’s likely there was one astonishing truth that arrested your heart. Then, there may have been another – equally important – element of the gospel that you only came to understand later. No matter how sincere and genuine a person’s faith in the Big Yes moment, there is much they don’t yet understand. We can’t know for sure what’s happening in their hearts and minds. The important thing is to commit to journeying on with them, making sure we do all we can to help them process and understand the decision they’ve made.

Let’s determine to help people say a Big Yes to Christ – and let’s determine to get it right. May we never be accused of pressuring people and making false promises. May we also never confuse interest or curiosity, with someone wanting to commit to Jesus there and then. Rather, let’s lean on the Holy Spirit for discernment: encouraging people’s questions as we journey with them, but also creating recognisable opportunities for them to choose to step into an adventure with Him.