Loving God supremely and loving people sacrificially is the key to accomplishing Jesus’ disciple-making mandate. A man may not want to hear the gospel, but when he has three feet of snow in his driveway he welcomes an extra shovel. As Dave’s story illustrates, responding to people’s felt needs is often a doorway to ultimately meeting their deepest need — a relationship with the living God.

Jesus healed sick people, commanded fish to swim into fishing nets, fed the hungry, had lunch with social outcasts and showed kindness to children because He genuinely loved people and was touched by their needs. People were not His “evangelistic project” — they were His passion. He loved people.

And He said that His followers would be easily distinguishable from those around them by their love. “All men will know you are My disciples,” He said, “if you love one another” (John 13:35).

If you’re blocked in your attempts to share the gospel with that neighbor, co-worker or family member, try refocusing your efforts on tangibly loving them. Love not only moves snow banks, it can also move mountains. “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).