Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and he who wins souls is wise.

What a difference a translation makes! I have liked this verse for a long time as an encouragement to evangelism, but in Japanese the 2nd half of the verse reads, “A person with wisdom catches people’s hearts.” Thinking about it, I’m sure the NIV and the Japanese are both valid translations of the original Hebrew, but the nuance is quite different. Such differences not withstanding, the verse is certainly true. A righteous person doesn’t just do something good now and then, it is their lifestyle. In the image of this verse, their lifestyle is a tree that bears life. It is affirming simply to be around them. This should be the reputation of every Christian! When we are negative and critical, that blocks the flow of life. We should speak the truth in love at all times, imparting life by what we do and say. When we live like that, we are indeed being wise, and people will be drawn to us, their hearts caught/souls won by what they see in us. This is what could be called organic evangelism: not trying to snare people with some sort of plan, but drawing them to Christ by demonstrating His character. That said, we need to remember Peter’s admonition to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) We do need to be able to express the good news of salvation in Christ in words that will communicate. That means avoiding “churchese,” and sharing our own experience of the grace of God. If we will do that, we will be living wisely and people will be won to Christ.

The “churchese” issue has always been a problem for me, because growing up in church as I did, even fairly deep theological terms seem quite natural to me. That’s compounded by living in Japan, and the language barrier there. I speak Japanese “churchese,” too! The average Japanese person has even less of a foundation for understanding the Gospel than the average American, and that’s saying something! I must constantly be on my guard not to leave people out in the cold by my terminology. Actually, most people don’t even understand “love,” “sin,” and “forgiveness” all that well, much less “grace,” and we won’t even go near “atonement!” My constant challenge is to help people understand first of all that they need to be saved, and then help them understand how they can be saved. That calls for more wisdom than I have in myself, but God promises wisdom to those who ask and trust Him, (James 1:5) so I need to let Him do the job through me.

Father, You know the people I’ve shared Christ with over the years, and You know their responses better than I do. I ask You to pour Your wisdom and Your love through me, so that barriers may be washed away and people receive the life that You have for them, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!