Sharing Good News!

I consider myself a very outgoing person- I find it enjoyable and easy to approach people and make new friends. I enjoy being surrounded with people who make me laugh, and have good  discussion with. As outgoing as I am, you would assume I would be a lot better at sharing my faith with those around me- sadly, I am not. 

I am not sure what makes it so difficult for me to tell people about God. When I really think about it, it can be a very simple thing to do, and life changing at the same time. How easily I can get together with a friend and tell them about a new restaurant they should try, a new store to shop in, or talk up Pilates like it's the number one exercise in the world (really though, I think it might be! :P). How can I stay quiet about what I know? How easy should it be for me to say, do you have a relationship with God? Have you heard that Jesus died for us so that we could have direct access to God and go straight to Heaven? There was a separation, picture a trench if you will, and Jesus with his cross bridged that for us. What an amazing thing! Have I told you about the best thing that's ever happened to me?

For some reason, I take a less forward approach. I would have to say I'm afraid that I'm not the best person for the job, so instead I try to live as an example of Christ, and I openly talk about my faith, hoping that someone will ask me and give me an open door. But what if their friendship itself is an open door that God has provided? And what if I could make a huge impact and am missing out? Just because I'm afraid of how they will react to the news, news that someone else could have haphazardly tried to throw on them in an unconvincing manner. 

One of my favorite books is "A Walk Across the Room" by Bill Hybels. I have read it 2 or 3 times, and will probably read it again soon. The man is a genius and the book just creates a fire in me- yeah I can do that! I can tell people like that! He brings up a point about how sometimes, God uses us just as a stepping stone for unbelievers. If you consider someone's faith on a scale of -10- +10, (-10 because of a bad experience that makes them look unfavorably upon Christianity) and your job may simply be to bring them from a -5 to a +2. And then somewhere down the line someone else will take them the rest of the way. I understand that we shouldn't approach sharing the Gospel like this; that our goal should be to take someone all the way to salvation but if we are only able to bring them so far, we should be ok with that too. 

I think part of my problem is that I don't have verses memorized. I need to begin doing this, because it would help to rattle off Romans 10:9-10: "That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." There it is! God gave us directions right there! I need to share that!

If I could memorize this passage, I don't know who wouldn't be humbled. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, tough for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God shows his love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:6-8. Would you consider dying for someone because they are righteous? A good person? Christ died for all of us- those who persecute him, ridicule him, don't care about him, continue to sin despite his words. Really, who does that?? Amazing. There is no act of selflessness that can top that. 

I will leave you with this- if you are reading this, have not accepted Christ and I have not shared the opportunity with you, I apologize for letting my fear get the best of me. Having God in my life has gotten me through the lowest points in my life, and has given me the best friends and opportunities a person could ask for. Talk to me about it, I want to share. If you are reading this and have any words of encouragement, or thoughts in general, let me know. If you're interested in a sneak peak at what being a Christian is (or should be) all about, read Romans 12:9-21. Man, I should be reading that one each day when I get up!!! Maybe I'll start doing that...

-H