By Maria Fontaine
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The Savior’s love for the lost is so vast that words simply cannot do it justice. It has been the theme of songs, poems, tributes, and heartfelt expressions beginning with the prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus and how He would take upon Himself the weight of our transgressions and would give His life for us as the sacrificial lamb (Isaiah 53:4–7).
Jesus has so much love for every single person. He loves the ones who don’t yet know Him, and He gave His life for every single person. He wants them to know Him and His love, and He wants them to receive His gift of eternal salvation (John 10:27–28). He wants to use their circumstances to work in their lives and to draw them to Him.
Just as He called out to Peter and Andrew, two of His first disciples who were fishermen, to follow Him and He would make them “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18–19), He calls everyone who believes in Him to in turn bring others into His kingdom. His final words to His disciples before His ascension were to go into all the world to proclaim the gospel and to make disciples of all nations (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19).
It all starts with us. We are called to be Jesus’ hands and feet and eyes and mouth to communicate His love and truth to others. We are called to be the “Bible in shoe leather” that the world “reads.” Our mission is to reach people in every walk of life, so that they may come to know Jesus and He may be the truly great love of their life, who alone can satisfy that deepest yearning of every human soul for love, truth, understanding, purpose, and meaning.
Jesus Himself said that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” and that “no one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). The love of God is perfectly pictured in Jesus, who shared His love with everybody, even the poorest people, and the outcasts of society, the oppressed, and the seemingly greatest sinners.
To be effective in sharing our faith with others, we have to reflect the love that God has for every single person—no matter who they are or what their current situation is in life. We have to be willing to reach out to them and manifest God’s love for them, just as Jesus did. That will mean different things in each situation, but what it comes down to is not letting anything stand between the Lord’s love and someone who is in need of Him—whether it’s our pride, our lack of self-confidence, our reputation, or our busy lives.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14–15). That’s a perspective about as far removed from living for self as any two concepts could ever be, and it’s overwhelming to think about fulfilling that commission. It’s grand, magnificent, superhuman—probably far beyond anything that we feel capable of.
It is a daunting prospect to be compelled by Christ’s love to live for Him and for others, and one that we doubtless feel we fall short in at times, when we think about the extent of our love for those who don’t know Jesus or don’t seem open to hearing about Him. I know that I fall far short, and I imagine that you probably feel the same way. But we all need to have faith that it is God who works in us with His love to motivate us to share Jesus’ truths with others (Philippians 2:13).
How do you measure love for those who don’t yet know the Lord? Is it manifested in tears and weeping for them? Is it manifested with feelings of compassion and tenderness? Is it manifested with a burning desire to find people searching for the Lord’s answers and comfort? These are all manifestations, but they’re not the only ones.
In the course of sharing the gospel with others, there may be times of sheer joy when someone makes the choice to receive the Lord. Perhaps you have prayed for a long time for someone to become a Christian, or in other cases, you are filled with joy when you see the visible fruit of your witness. But these will likely not be everyday occurrences, and they can even be quite rare.
If you wait for a tangible feeling of love for people, or passion to share the good news with them and to talk to them about Jesus, you could miss opportunities to reach those who need Jesus. Love is not simply an emotion. Let’s talk a little bit about what love really is.
The word agape, the most commonly used word for love in the New Testament in Greek, refers to love for God and love that chooses to put the needs of others before self. This kind of self-giving love goes beyond feelings and accepts being inconvenienced and voluntarily suffers for the benefit of someone else. It is the sacrificial love that Jesus manifested and that we are called to imitate. The love that Jesus had for us motivated Him to come to earth and live among us and die for us so that we could have salvation forever.
Love is what motivated the great missionaries of the past to leave their comfortable homes, and sometimes even their loved ones and families, to answer the Lord’s call in their heart to tell others about Him. From their published journals and letters, it is clear that many of them struggled as they endured circumstances of hardship to reach people in distant lands who had never heard the good news. But they were called by the Lord, and they answered His call in spite of the many sacrifices it entailed.
We often look to the great men and women of history as examples, and when we read about the fruit of their labors—the souls brought to the kingdom in their lifetime, the missions they founded, the poor and oppressed people they helped, or the sacrifices they made—we are moved and inspired. Some of them made beautiful statements later in their life and ministry that showed their deep and compelling love for the people that the Lord had sent them to reach.
But I would venture to say from some of the things they said or wrote that some of them didn’t feel that compelling love in an overflowing way right from the beginning. They had a great calling from the Lord, and they obviously had a great love because they obeyed. That is the proof of their love for Jesus and others. The quotes from their writings that extol the love and passion in their heart are beautiful, but we know by their writings that they didn’t feel that way every day, just as we don’t. Their love for Jesus compelled them to do what He called them to do.
The proof of their love for Jesus and others was in their obedience. They answered the Lord’s call, despite whatever hardship it meant for them personally. They endured the difficulties, they steeled themselves to not quit or give up prematurely, and ultimately found joy and fulfillment in their labors.
We often think of David Livingstone’s famous declaration of faith, “I have never made a sacrifice!” We know that he actually made enormous sacrifices. I’m sure there were times when he was heartbroken, overwhelmed, discouraged, and felt the weight of the sacrifices he was making. But when he made that statement, he was envisioning the rewards, the blessings, the souls rescued for God’s kingdom, as well as the sacrifices Jesus made for us, which dwarf ours by comparison.
He knew that in light of all that, the physical and emotional hardships could not be considered sacrifices, echoing the Apostle Paul’s words, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). And when we look back at the preponderance of our lives, the things we have endured or sacrificed for Jesus compared to what He has done for us, we can express the same feeling with conviction.
May we each continue to be faithful to live out our love for the Lord and the lost each day, reaching out to the people the Lord places in our path, sharing the good news of salvation in Jesus, and providing a living example of His love.
Originally published November 2010. Adapted and republished November 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh.
