Analogy

[Marissa777]

God gave me a cool analogy for evangelism. And then it grew
Sorry for the quality of writing lol

Think of life as a road trip to heaven
In order to get to a destination a person needs directions
In this case Jesus represents the directions
Once you have directions you know how to get to your destination (heaven)
If someone tries to guess the directions (relying on ourselves) or lose sight of them, they could get lost again, but once they find them again they can get back on track. There is always a way of getting on track again.
Everyone has to take detours sometimes.
In some cases people think they know how to get to their destination (heaven) themselves and can even head in the right direction but they won't get there without directions(we can't get to Heaven without Jesus)
the kind of road trip I am talking about has many turns, unexpected detours is complicated and long! It's not possible to get there without directions.
Again you can go in the general direction on your own...in this case without relying on Jesus in your life, you can still try to be a good person, do kind things for people try to obey the commandments and believe in God. And aim for heaven. But you will eventually still get lost without Jesus. Especially when you hit those unexpected obstacles...and many turns that you couldn't possibly figure out alone.
Still Sometimes people may not think they are lost at all so directions seem pointless (they may say they don't need to accept Christ, they do good works)
Or they think they have the right directions but they don't (Satan deceiving them to believe they have salvation because they believe in God and that it's the same thing, or different religions all together, or they want control over their life!)
And so they keep going without correct directions (Jesus)) and by the time they realize they are lost it's too late and they end up at the wrong destination with no fuel left. (On this road trip there is only one tank of Gas and it's the perfect amount, no refills! There is no such thing as reincarnation )
So evangelizing is like being that person who gives the directions to someone who is lost. (introducing the person to Christ)
Ok so maybe they don't get so lost that they to need to stop and ask for directions...they don't need To be evangelized.
They were blessed enough to be in a Christian home since very young,
And were introduced to Christ that way..
So they have a GPS. And it came with the car, but they still have to turn it on, (turning it on symbolizes a choice TO follow Jesus.) since they were brought up that way they never had to get desperately lost and pull over and ask . But without turning on the GPS; it's useless!


Just wanted to share... I love when God speaks to me this way.
It's a very basic message but I'm a very young Christian so I'm learning to hear him.

Add to it! I'm curious to see how much deeper this could go...

 

[John Hyperspace]

My analogy would be similar except that people are on foot and it's in the Old West out in the badlands. Part way along the trails they meet people who offer a rescue beacon to the travelers. "Rescue beacon?" they ask. "How could we possibly be rescued out here?" "They fly in with helicopters!" "Helicopters?!" "Yep. Haven't you seen those heli-pads along the way? The big square areas?" Some people go "Wow. Helicopters! Give me a beacon!" while other people scoff and say, "There's no such a thing as a 'helicopter'! Those square areas don't prove 'helicopters'!" "Buddy, I've seen the helicopters; trust me they're real." They scoff again, "There's no rescue teams in 'helicopters'!" "Suite yourself."

So eventually everyone gets lost. The ones with beacons find a heli-pad and activate the beacon. whoop whoop whoop whoop Here come the helicopters and the rescue team gets them, and flies them to the desination at Alpha camp.

The others wander about, under the scorching sun. Their canteens go empty. They run out of food. They stagger through the dust deliriously laughing at themselves. Their lips grow parched, and they stumble along. Finally they pitch over. All hope is lost. The vultures begin circling overhead. They close their eyes... ... ... whoop whoop whoop whoop they open their eyes in slits. What is that sound? whoop whoop whoop whoop They look upward at a dark blur hovering above them; figures sliding down cords. They manage a weak smile. "Helicopters ... are real..." they whisper. The figures are lifting them "We got you, you're going to be alright" as the delirious man squawks through parched lips "I didn't... think you were..." "Oh we're real, all right. You almost got yourself killed not having a rescue beacon." Soon they're in the air. "Hang tight; we'll get you to safety. Alpha camp is all filled up, but there's plenty of room at Omega camp."