"Some do not want to share their faith because it is awkward. I'll tell you what is awkward...standing in front of Jesus and trying to explain why we didn't share the good news" -Jeff CooperOuch. I have no problem sharing my faith with other Christians...people that I know will agree with me or at least see where I'm coming from. But I do struggle sharing my faith with my un-churched friends and family. On one hand, I care about them and want them to know the hope and freedom of being in a relationship with Christ. But I am also afraid of being "preachy" and pushing them away to the point of them writing me off as a "religious nutcase" :) So how do I find the balance? I've been where they are. I have been skeptical, not wanting to put my faith in something I couldn't completely understand. I've seen the hypocrisy of "Sunday morning Christians". I've viewed Christianity as just a religion...a bunch of rules and rituals. So how do I show them that being a Christian is really about a relationship, not rules? How do I show them that it should be a lifestyle, not just something people do during a service?
I want to just live my life as an example. But I don't have one of those powerful testimonies on the outside...such as the people who have been delivered from addictions or obvious lifestyles of sin. My outward actions probably seem pretty much the same as they've always been. The change for me has been internal. I know that internal changes express themselves externally, but I don't know if it's enough for anyone to notice.
So then I've just gone along with the idea that if my friends know I'm a Christian, I can then leave the ball in their court as to whether they want to discuss faith issues with me. But is this the best policy? I don't know.
I know what Jesus has done in my life. And I long for those I care about to know this same hope. I want them to find true joy in this life, and be able to spend an eternity in heaven. So what's the best way to share my faith, while at the same time just loving them wherever they are? Still searching for the answer to that one...
1 comment:
Jeanette - you have a powerful testimony to those who use the excuse "well I've never really done anything that bad" or "I'm a good person - isn't that enough?". You know first hand the inward transformation that takes place, even for people who have been relatively 'good' all their lives.
Any testimony of God's grace saving us from ourselves and changing our eternal destiny is a powerful one. You have a lot to offer and a testimony to be shared, whether it is verbally or as a daily life witness that not all Christians are hypocrites.
With love,
Kim
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