3 Easy Steps to Make Ourselves Attractive to Others

by Teresa Kiehl | Juarez, Mexico

Pope Francis has stated that “the Church grows by attraction, not proselytizing”. We have discovered some real, genuine ways to attract others to Jesus, by simply living and loving our Lord.

1. Invite Jesus into your conversations. We have made it a habit to say “God bless you,” or “Praise Jesus” ,“Thank God”, “The Lord is so good”. When we experience emotions we mention Jesus. It has become second nature for us to say “God bless you” and “Thank you Jesus” in place of “Good luck” or “That’s cool.”

For some this may come off as forced at first. This is normal. Spanish was very forced for us when we arrived here in Mexico. Now we speak it second nature. Time and usage will develop the habit.  Plus, when you find yourself with people you find lead you away from God you can really focus on these beautiful little opportunities to call upon His name and be mindful of His presence near you, helping you.

2. Offer to pray for people when you see them hurting, and if time allows pray in their presence. They need to see how much you love them and how you relate to Jesus.  One time Jonathan was at Walmart waiting on a bench for a friend to finish paying.  As he waited an older woman sat down next to him. They struck up a conversation and before long he had promised to pray for her bad back pain. She was on her way into the store, so he said goodbye and they went their own ways.

Moments later he could hear the Lord asking him why he hadn’t prayed for her right there in the store. Jonathan knew Jesus was asking him to invite Him into her pain. He got up and found the woman in the produce section. He asked her if he could pray over her right there. She smiled and said she would like that. He didn’t need to preach to her about the divinity of Christ, but simply invited Him in to change her life and meet her in her struggle.

3. Live Holy!!! This is tricky because we tend to be so blind to the obvious. In the Bible, to live holy means to live set apart. Most people think this means simply set apart from sin. This was exactly what the Pharisees of Jesus’ day thought about it.  Yet Jesus said,“Your holiness must be more.” God is calling you to live set apart from your material goods.

We are convinced that we must live with things less, to live with Him more. We are truly convinced that what the world needs to see more of is not more rich Christians who are weighed down with material concerns. They need to see poor Christians to whom Jesus is enough. Think how much more striking and genuine it is when you can say and mean Jesus is all I need. Jesus is my all in all. It comes across as false when you sing “Jesus is my everything,” and yet you have a mass of material goods that most of the world is lacking. Pray that God will help you to let go and step out onto the water. We meet Him in the wind and the waves, not sitting comfortably in the yacht.

by Teresa Kiehl