Gauging Your Heart for Those Outside the Faith

Since I became a pastor I always supported the idea of loving people far from God. I believed and taught about the importance of the Great Commission; I sincerely encouraged people to befriend and care for those outside the family of faith. And yet drumming up internal passion for lost people was something that I struggled with personally. I had the knowledge (knowing that we should love people) but I was lacking in the practice (actually doing it). And I was bothered by it.

It is an important practice for me to constantly be looking out against my own apathy. If I get complacent I will drift towards self-absorption. I will become more concerned with my own comfort and enjoyment in life than I am with the eternal state of others’ souls. I will forget to extend to others the great grace and rescue given to me.

Casey points out 4 questions that Dan Kimball asks himself to gauge the condition of his heart for lost people. These are convicting questions to use for personal evaluation and journaling.

1. Am I numb or neutral to people outside the church?
2. Do I intercede daily for people outside the church?
3. Who am I praying for now who is not a Christian?
4. When is the last time I had coffee or dinner or gone to a movie and just hung out with someone who is not a Christian?

How are you doing with this stuff?