--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...Our challenge as Christians is not to…" description: "\"“...Our challenge as Christians is not to try to convert people around us to our way of belief but to love them, to be ourselves living incarnations of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-main-42440_christianity_our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-tr_2020362.jpg" --- # ...Our challenge as Christians is not to try to convert… ![“...Our challenge as Christians is not to try to convert people around us to our way of belief but to love them, to be ourselves living incarnations of what we believe, to live what we believe and to love what we believe.” quote by John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-main-42440_christianity_our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-tr_2020362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-main-42440_christianity_our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-tr_2020362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-main-42440_christianity_our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-tr_2020362.jpg) > ““...Our challenge as Christians is not to try to convert people around us to our way of belief but to love them, to be ourselves living incarnations of what we believe, to live what we believe and to love what we believe.”” [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Christians should embody love through living their beliefs, not just preaching conversion. **In simple terms:** Live love, don’t just preach. Key Takeaway Be a living example of your faith. Themes love faith authenticity Mood spiritual inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - community service - personal relationships - interfaith dialogue - daily habits Key Concepts theology spiritual practice Questions to Reflect On - How can you demonstrate love in daily actions? - What beliefs guide your love? A Different Perspective May overlook the need for respectful dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [I've heard plenty of Christians try to answer the why question by going back to the what. "You have to believe because Jesus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/i-ve-heard-plenty-of-christians-try-to-answer-the-why-question-by/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I suggest the greatest challenge to Christians in the business world is within - making the heart determination (simply put, the choice) to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/i-suggest-the-greatest-challenge-to-christians-in-the-business-world/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [I think most non-Christians who try to be good people are probably better Christians than Christians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kantner/i-think-most-non-christians-who-try-to-be-good-people-are-probably/) [Paul Kantner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kantner/) > [“When Christians try to celebrate the Lord's Supper as anything besides a fellowship of believers, it's a sign that their faith and their church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-mims/when-christians-try-to-celebrate-the-lord-s-supper-as-anything/) Gene Mims > [As Christians try to force prayer into public schools, they often settle for a 'moment of silence.' But that supposedly innocuous 'moment of silence'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-hayes/as-christians-try-to-force-prayer-into-public-schools-they-often/) [Judith Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-hayes/) > [Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude; but believers are not compared to bears, or lions, or other animals that wander…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/some-christians-try-to-go-to-heaven-alone-in-solitude-but-believers/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [I cannot follow you Christians; for you try to crawl through your life upon your knees, while I stride through mine on my feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/i-cannot-follow-you-christians-for-you-try-to-crawl-through-your-life/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [There are many things the government cant do, many good purposes it must renounce. It must leave them to the enterprise of others. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/there-are-many-things-the-government-cant-do-many-good-purposes-it/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [This is the thing I've never understood: If someone is going to hell for being gay or being a Jew or a Muslim or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/this-is-the-thing-i-ve-never-understood-if-someone-is-going-to-hell/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Non-co-operators will make a serious mistake if they seek to convert people to their creed by violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-co-operators-will-make-a-serious-mistake-if-they-seek-to-convert/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Paintings may not have nearly the power to convert people that the printed or spoken word has, but each man has his part to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kurelek/paintings-may-not-have-nearly-the-power-to-convert-people-that-the/) William Kurelek > [You cannot convert people beyond your own conversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/you-cannot-convert-people-beyond-your-own-conversion/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [The artist may rightly venture the opinion that he does not convey ideas, does not preach, nor that he intents to convert people by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoni-tapies/the-artist-may-rightly-venture-the-opinion-that-he-does-not-convey/) [Antoni Tapies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoni-tapies/) > [If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody. And this is because the most powerful things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/if-the-gospel-isn-t-good-news-for-everybody-then-it-isn-t-good-news-2/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I don't want to convert people to Buddhism — all major religions, when understood properly, have the same potential for good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-don-t-want-to-convert-people-to-buddhism-all-major-religions-when/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## More by John Main > [In contemplative prayer we seek to become the person we are called to be, not by thinking of God, but by being with God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/in-contemplative-prayer-we-seek-to-become-the-person-we-are-called-to/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [“St John of the Cross,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/st-john-of-the-cross/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [“love reaches out to communicate, to share, to widen the realm of its own communion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/love-reaches-out-to-communicate-to-share-to-widen-the-realm-of-its/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [Meditation begins with a call that awakes us out of the coma of self-preoccupation. We are called, we are chosen. Meditation is our response…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/meditation-begins-with-a-call-that-awakes-us-out-of-the-coma-of-self/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [Meditation simplifies us, simplifies us to the point where we can receive the fullness of truth and the fullness of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/meditation-simplifies-us-simplifies-us-to-the-point-where-we-can/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [The important aim in Christian meditation is to allow God's mysterious and silent presence within us to become more and more not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/the-important-aim-in-christian-meditation-is-to-allow-god-s/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [The silence is there within us. What we have to do is to enter into it, to become silent, to become the silence. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/the-silence-is-there-within-us-what-we-have-to-do-is-to-enter-into-it/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [That is the conviction we must come to in our meditation, that the darkness cannot quench the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/that-is-the-conviction-we-must-come-to-in-our-meditation-that-the/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) > [“The light which enlightens us bathes the whole of creation but it enters us through a narrow aperture”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/the-light-which-enlightens-us-bathes-the-whole-of-creation-but-it/) [John Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) [Explore all 10 John Main quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/) ## More Christianity quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“some of my good Baptist brethren in Georgia had done a little preaching from the pulpit against the KKK, I would have a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-moss/some-of-my-good-baptist-brethren-in-georgia-had-done-a-little/) [Norman Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-moss/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Why do Christians sing when they are together? 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He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-real-christian-in-an-odd-number-anyway-he-feels-supreme-love-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) [Browse all 14,385 Christianity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...Our challenge as Christians is not to try to convert people around us to our way of belief but to love them, to be ourselves living incarnations of what we believe, to live what we believe and to love what we believe.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Main" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-try-to-convert-people-around-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christianity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-try-to-convert-people-around-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-main-42440_christianity_our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-tr_2020362.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-main-42440_christianity_our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-tr_2020362.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-main-42440_christianity_our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-tr_2020362.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...Our challenge as Christians is not to try to convert people around us to our way of belief but to love…” — John Main", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Main", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-main/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...Our challenge as Christians is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-try-to-convert-people-around-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-main/our-challenge-as-christians-is-not-to-try-to-convert-people-around-us/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```