Getting Pushy
Chris Adsite
I was tired. It had been a rough work-out: repeat quarter-miles. I had just settled down to dinner in the dorm cafeteria, and up strolled Dick and two of his friends.
“Hi Chris! We’re going over to the next town to watch this great Billy Graham movie, want to come along?”
About two weeks earlier, Dick had led me to Christ. My love for the Lord was growing fast, and I wanted to follow Him, but I wasn’t too sure about these Christians. I mean, they carried around Bibles and prayed out loud and sang songs in groups, for cryin’ out loud! I wasn’t ready to start hanging out with a bunch of fanatics!
I had to think fast. How was I going to get out of this? “Oh, well, thanks for asking, Dick, but as you can see, I’ve just started dinner. I don’t want to hold you up – you guys go on and have fun!”
“No, we’ve got time. We’ll wait for you.” They all sat down. Better try a new tack.
“Actually, Dick, I’ve got a lot of homework tonight. I’d love to go, but . . .”
“What exactly do you have to do tonight,” Dick asked. I quickly listed several bogus assignments. He fielded each hit and showed me where I could reschedule my “work” and even offered to help me with some of my tasks. How was I going to shake this guy?
“Well, the truth is, Dick, I’m on scholarship with the track team, and the coach has imposed a curfew on us. We’ve got to be in our rooms by 10.” Dick expressed surprise. “You haven’t made the curfew yet, Chris. Why start tonight?” Think, man! Think! “You know, I’d love to go, but I just don’t have the money right now . . .”
“No problem!” Dick slaps down a five-dollar bill.
That was it. I was licked. They dragged me off to that movie, and that evening changed my life forever. I watched how these guys loved each other, encouraged each other, had good, clean unadulterated, pure-hearted fun with each other. I saw Christ in their midst, and I wanted in! From that night on, I greatly preferred the company of my new Christian friends, rather than my old non-Christian ones – a step which significantly contributed to my spiritual growth.
But none of that would have happened if Dick hadn’t “pushed” me. It was obvious to him that I needed fellowship, and he was willing to risk my rejection and anger by being aggressive and tenacious with me. He wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.
Too often, we Christians say, “Now, I don’t want to be pushy. I don’t want to alienate anyone.” Listen, the world’s pushy! Satan’s pushy! Before I knew Christ and decided to stand for Him, my dorm friends thought nothing of pounding on my door at midnight and dragging me off to go drinking. If we are going to gain back ground for the Kingdom of God, sometimes we’re going to have to push!
In the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples . . .” We must take the initiative – both with non-Christians who need to know Christ and with Christians who need to know Him better. The job won’t get done if we’re “staying” – only if we’re “going”.
A primary reason why some many Christians are falling into sin these days is because we are not “pushing” each other toward maturity and safety. We back off on this issue for the same reason we back off on witnessing: Fear of rejection. We don’t reach out to other because of what it might cost us. We listen to Satan’s lies instead of the truth of God Who says in Isaiah 58:10-12: “If you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your gloom will become like midday . . . and you will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail . . ” If we reach out and touch someone, both we and they will benefit – and Satan loses!If my coach hadn’t pushed me, I’d never have become an All-American. If my professors hadn’t pushed me, I’d never have gotten my degree. And if Dick hadn’t pushed me, I never would have grown in the Lord. And by the way, if you ever see me standing in the middle of the road with a truck bearing down on me, do me a favor: PUSH ME! I might think you rude at first, and I may smart for a while, but I guarantee I’ll thank you for it later.
The above article, �Getting Pushy,� is written by Chris Adsite. The article was excerpted from www.disciplemakersinternational.org website, where it was published October of 2011.
The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.
