Do I Hate Unbelievers?

Is every Christian a missionary?  This is just one of many questions posed by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne in their book The Trellis and the Vine.  Here is a short excerpt of their answer.

"The Christian without a missionary heart is an anomaly.  The missionary heart will be seen in all kinds of ways: in prayers for the lost, in making sure our behaviour offends no one, in gospel conversations with friends, and in making every effort to save some.  We are slaves without rights, even though we are free (cf. 2 Cor 4:5; Phil 2:7)."

There is a great struggle within the church in the Unites States today.  We desire for others to come to know Christ but it seems too socially awkward to approach them and tell them about Christ.  I recently led a Bible study on evangelism and stated that we are given opportunities each day to share our faith with unbelieving neighbors, friends, and family.  How often do we meet an unbelieving neighbor in the grocery store and only say hello?  Why do we resist getting beyond the surface conversation, pray for them right there, and telling them about the love of Christ?  Someone answered with, "But we don't want to ruin any type of relationship that has been built up.  Telling them about Christ at the grocery store would make us both uncomfortable."

My father used to tell me that if something was important to you then you would do it.  For example, if you say that prayer is important to you then you should be praying consistently and with power.  If following the commands of Jesus Christ means sharing the truth of His Gospel with others then I should be sharing the Gospel with others.  It's not rocket science.  In fact, Marshall and Payne write about Penn Jillette, an avowed and vocal atheist, and one-half of the famous comic-illusionist act Penn and Teller.  "He was evangelized by a polite and impressive man, and had this to say about the experience:

'. . . I've always said, you know, that I don't respect people who don't proselytize.  I don't respect that at all.  If you believe that there's a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell, or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that, well, it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward . . . How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize?  How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?  I mean, if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you, and you didn't believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you.  And this is more important than that . . .'"

Atheists get it.  Why don't we?  Any reason given for not sharing Christ with others is given to excuse our lack of missionary heart.  And in the words of Penn Jillette, "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"