We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NLT)
What do you think the difference was between how Jesus shared the Gospel and how we sometimes do it? 1 Thessalonians 2:8 is an eye opener. Here it is in different versions.
Because we loved you, we were happy to share not only God’s Good News with you, but even our own lives. You had become so dear to us! NCV
Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. NIV
We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did. MSG
What stands out to you in those verses? Of course, the love that was felt for people. But, then the text goes on to talk about sharing life, giving of yourself. So often we Christians look at sharing the Gospel as something we have to do to check the box instead of an act of love. And no offense but I think it's really hard to walk up to a stranger on the street and say let me tell you about the Gospel and share love. You might be talking about God's love but you are not actually loving someone.
If God is calling you to a drive-by, then do it but Jesus' example was living life with the people he was trying to reach. He got into the messiness and the politics and the pain of it all and stayed there. He lived the love he knew and by doing that showed us how to do the same. Get into the messiness with people. Stay. Support. Reflect the love you know.