Saint Francis once said, "Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words." I think this is a great way to evangelize to a broken world that's in need of Christ's love and the gift He is offering to all. We can preach the Gospel at all times because evangelism goes deeper than just the words we speak to other people. We can share the Gospel with others through every aspect of our life. We can demonstrate the Gospel through our actions and behaviors towards one another as well as with our words.

The Gospel of Christ is the good news, and the good news is all about love - how "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

We can then use God's example to treat other people with the same love God gave to us. After all, God's second greatest command is to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). This command is evident in many passages. Luke 10: 27 says to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself."

Not only are we to love our neighbors or those who are kind to us, but even our enemies are to receive love. Luke 6:27-28 puts it like this: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." This truth may be hard for some to swallow, but everyone needs love, even those who make it difficult. Since Christ loves each and every one of us, we owe Him our life, our love, and our willingness to love the rest of His creation. This task of loving other people can be scary to many because sometimes we just don't want to love people who treat us badly.

Preaching the Gospel at all times doesn't have to be scary like many of us would assume it to be. Love can be demonstrated in the smallest action or simplest word. Complimenting a classmate's wardrobe or holding a door open are both little acts that display our love for people. Now with that said, small gestures are by no means a replacement for sharing God's love verbally. As believers in Christ and God's messengers, we should always be seeking opportunities to make a difference in someone's life by speaking truth into their heart.

In the meantime, we should always be shining our lights into the darkness and expressing ourselves through love to those we meet. Preaching the Gospel is both a verbal and behavioral task. And as we go out into the world, let us go in all boldness and without hindrance just as our brother Paul did when he was preaching the kingdom of God.

Sarah Smith grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with an English degree. She loves being a child of God and serving in missions. She has gone on trips to Germany and London and served a recent term of five and half months in London as a missionary intern. She recently applied to seminary and is looking forward to attending Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall to study Christian Counseling.