A Call

As Christians we are called to be disciples of the nations and bring people to the cross. So why then do so many Christians shy away from telling non-Christians about the relationship they cherish most in their lives? Because it’s hard. I know just as well as anyone that sharing your experiences and life as a Christian to a non-believer is scary because the thought of rejection is always looming in the back of your mind. But we’re not called to sit by idly and watch the secular world fall apart when we could so easily be used by God to be part of the solution.
It’s intimidating and awkward to walk up to people you don’t know and start spouting things out like a lunatic about this God we know so intimately and they just have to come to God or their going to hell. Let me say right now that we as people have no place to say who’s going to hell or not. We shouldn’t be spewing curses when we’re called to love and speak blessing over the lives of all people, weather they be our enemies or our best friends. Now I’m not saying that it’s not important to warn people about hell, because I believe that every person should have an understanding of what hell is—but we should never tell people that’s where they’ll end up because we have no idea what works God could do in the remainder of their lives. I was told before I was a Christian that I was going to rot in hell because of the saturation of sin in my life—and here I am living life for God to the best of my ability. The people who said that to me had no way of knowing where I would be right now, but they also had no right to assume. Perhaps if they’d taken the approach of loving me despite my sin and talking to me about God without an attitude that they were somehow better than I was perhaps I would’ve listened instead of sinking further in sin out of spite for the people who cursed me. I think too many Christians are too quick to throw the Bible at someone instead of reading it more and taking in the message of love it teaches us all.

Sharing your faith is hard because for a moment you’re vulnerable to the fact that you have to admit that you’ve messed up. Too many people take the wrong approach and come off with a domineer that tells the other person that you think you’re better than them and they will automatically shut down. But if you share the shameful details of your past and give a real testimony to the greatness of Gods grace and mercy then perhaps we could start a revolution and see lives changed. I’ve read a book several times now called God.Net, by James Landteaux, who I think makes a very valid point in a chapter titled: One Transparent Son when he discusses the way Jesus lived his life completely transparent and through the transparency people found truth. When there are no barriers of lies, pride, shame, and self-preservation, there lies purely truth. Don’t be ashamed of the testimony God has given you. You can use your testimony to relate to many people, and when they see the way your life has changed after being in that situation, then perhaps they gain the hope that the same can be done for them.
This also means that we as Christians have to step out of our comfort zones and our pristine little circles and go out into the world to the people who are really hurting. Jesus said we are to be disciples to all the nations and to become fishers of men.

There are several chapters in God.Net that explain how we can become better fishers of men, if you ever get the chance I would recommend it. It’s a great book. A real look inside the life of a Christian who does what he can to listen to God’s voice but isn’t afraid to admit he gets in God’s way sometimes.