For some Christians, sharing their faith with the people closest to them makes them freeze and then retaliate. When I see that I don’t understand. Then I freeze and retaliate. When I learn that someone is a Christian, I kind of expect them to love talking about their Savior, Jesus, to others. And when I don’t see that, a part of me hurts inside.
I hurt inside because being a Christ follower is dong exactly that: following. Jesus didn’t stand still. He didn’t sit around His whole life waiting for lost people to find Him. They were lost! Sure, people did find Jesus, as we read in the Bible. But He knew the importance of choosing the path God had before Him and taking that path because there were lost people who needed help along the way.
If you are a Christian, you are not called to stand still. No, not literally. You are not called to stand still in your faith. You are called to go and tell others the truth that you possess. The truth that you hold in your hands. Proclaim the Word that you claim to believe yourself.
Talk is trash. People can throw it away. Not everyone has a perfect memory and can recite the Gettysburg Address. The words you may say to someone may mean something then but may not stick with them.
I’m not saying words of wisdom, sermons, or kind words are not worth it. What I’m saying is to only tell someone you love them but never show it to them will get thrown away into nothingness (just like trash). What is the point when actions show so much more to people? We like to see that you mean what you say.
As you hear so many pastors and preachers and leaders say, God is calling you to action.
Go and tell your friends about Jesus with words and by who you are. If your faith in God is the most important thing to you, it will shape who you are. It will change the way you think, feel, act, and respond to certain things. Isn’t that what we asked Jesus to do when we asked Him into our hearts?
I say all of this because I care. I say all of this because as a Christian, you have a responsibility. I say all of this because there are people out there that need to know Jesus.
If this is all scary, seems demanding, or is too much for you, you have the choice of turning back. You really do. You have that freedom. But if you follow Christ, these things shouldn’t seem abnormal to you. Being called to action should not be crazy. Being a Christ follower is not normal! So why do we expect so much to be like everyone else and retaliate when we are called to be different? That is not what we signed up for!
I don’t know what you are thinking right now. If you think I sound angry or mean or like I’m pointing my finger at you right now, I just want you to think about why you feel that way. I want you to know that my intensions for writing this is not to say that I’m perfect in this area of my life, but to say that as followers of Christ, we have an opportunity to proclaim truth and spread love.
Love isn’t always easy and fruity and bubbly and fun. Love is caring enough to help someone when they’re stumbling. Love is caring enough about a friend to tell them about Jesus because you know the other option is hell.
This is a serious thing we have to think about as Christians. Do we believe in God? And do we believe in hell? Do we fear both?
Proverbs 9:10- To fear God is the beginning of Wisdom.
A prominent leader in my life, Michelle, shared with our small group this last week a vision she had about her unbelieving friends. She said that she imagined people from every nation standing in line on Judgement Day to meet with God. A friend, who didn’t know Jesus, turned to her with fear in her eyes and asked,
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
That was a powerful message for me to really observe how important sharing my faith is to me. Am I telling everyone I can about Jesus and the love He has to offer? Or am I too worried about crossing boundaries and making them feel suffocated?
That is a word I hear a lot; “suffocated”. It is usually followed by “my parents” or “this weird person at school that talks about Jesus ALL THE TIME”. But we can’t fear this word. We can’t fear how people will react to hearing God’s word. They need to hear it. Right now I’m remembered a great quote from a great movie I used to watch as a child (and still do):
“Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game” -Cinderella Story.
(I know that what we’re talking about isn’t a game, but we can relate it to a game because this quote is so true!)
For me, this article was very difficult for me to publish because I know of people in my life, who are Christians, who would be offended by what I have to say. And if I told them this to their faces, I don’t think they would like me anymore. That is exactly why I needed to write this. Because there is something really messed up about that.
If you have this truth, don’t go and shove it in people’s faces. But don’t sit back and wait for people to come to you magically one day and ask about Jesus. There is a fine line between the two and we need to be there.
Sharing your faith is too important to worry about what others are thinking. If Jesus would’ve kept quiet during His life here on earth, we wouldn’t be able to look forward to an eternity of life with God. He saved us. And He wants to save your friends too. And maybe, just maybe, you were put in a friend’s life to be the one who tells them about this Savior.
John 3:16- For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever may believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jeremiah 1:7-8- But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”
Matthew 28:19-20- And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
1 Peter 4:18- And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
Matthew 25:31-46.
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