Sadly, I have been guilty of this, of feeling this way. I’m not sure that it has necessarily been a feeling of shame that I have felt in the past, but definitely a feeling of discomfort or awkwardness at times when it comes to sharing the Good News with others. I’ve had to repent to the Lord for the times I have felt uncomfortable sharing His word. Fortunately, He forgives fast and always reassures with something along the lines of, “No worries. Just try to do better next time.”
I REALLY admire kind-hearted Christians who are so confident in Christ and speak so openly and assuredly about Him. My mentor is like this. Not sure if “Bible thumpers” also fall into this category –I suppose to some extent, yes, but Jesus was never a Bible pusher, so I don’t think we’re supposed to be that way either. We’re supposed to find neat, creative, fun, gentle, and noncoercive ways to share God’s love with others. Anyway, I just really love to see Christians spread God’s word without worrying about how others will receive it. These people aren’t people-pleasers. They’re God-pleasers. They know they won’t reach everyone, but they’re happy to reach someone. We could stand to learn a thing or two from the examples they set.
It’s taken me several years to get comfortable in my walk with Christ in order to share it with others. This blog is a big step in that direction. I’ve had to really work at shedding that people-pleasing spirit from my life. One of the ways the Lord has helped me grow in this area is by allowing the enemy to use my friends and family (yes, the Lord will sometimes allow the enemy to tempt/test you because it’s how we grow in Him). While so many of them have endorsed my writing and been very supportive (regardless of whether they agree with it), some haven’t. While it’s not always easy to read unkind comments from readers (strangers) online who take issue with my writing, it’s a cake-walk compared to dealing with rejection and criticism from friends and family (whether it’s to your face or behind your back). But, I’ve gotten so much better at dealing with it. I’d be disingenuous if I said it didn’t bother me sometimes, but it’s a lot less nowadays. Why? Because so long as my Father in Heaven is for me, who can be against me? And the same applies to you.
Given the climate of hot topics right now, no wonder some of us may be feeling more of a need to zip our lips when it comes to talking about anything that could be misconstrued or ill-received. I think it’s all the more important for us to lean into what the Holy Spirit lays on our hearts. When He says, “Share me,” we need to come out of our safety shells and do just that –find neat, creative, fun, gentle, and noncoercive ways of sharing His love with others.
One of my girlfriends is moving to North Carolina unexpectedly. She met me at church the other week and shared her news over brunch. I was bummed. I get that the Lord has us all on His plan—coming and going and moving when He says, “it’s time.” But I’m really going to miss her. I love my girlfriends, each and every one of them. This friend and I really started to connect in the last year (we met through our husbands about five years ago), and our mutual love for Jesus was one of the biggest ways we found commonality.
Sadly, I didn’t know how passionate she was about her faith until about a year ago. We were hanging out at her house one evening, the topic of my children’s book came up (about God and animals, that I gave her son years prior), and she shared some of her heart. I always knew she was a Christian, but she’s generally a private person, and I never got the feeling that talking “God” was something she was comfortable with. I try to be respectful of others’ comfort zones. Turns out, I was wrong. When I turned to her at one point in our conversation and said, “How could I have not known this about you?,” she replied, “Because you never asked.”
(Sigh) There you have it.
In a world where most people get offended when we do ask whether Jesus is a part of their lives, we end up missing out on the joys of unity, identify, fellowship, and camaraderie when we don’t ask.
I’m going to find more neat, creative, fun, gentle, noncoercive ways to ask others about Him.
I’m going to find more neat, creative, fun, gentle, noncoercive ways to share Him with others.
