Sharing our story (part 3)

     It is unfortunate to me that many Christians have a mental picture of using a tract and going through a gospel sales pitch with some unsuspecting stranger on the street or at their front door as we do our best to convince them that the decision to follow Christ will be the best one they ever made.  There is room for tracts…there is even room for confrontational evangelism on occasion, but I am convinced that the real work of evangelism is done on a daily basis as we build relationships with real people.  We develop friendships, learn about others, grow closer to some, discern their interest in what is important to us (spiritual things) and talk with them about Jesus.  Some of them will eventually be moved by the Spirit of God and respond to your explanation.  Others will not.  The point is not the response; the point is your faithfulness to be a good friend and share your faith with them.

     Let me continue with the list we began a couple of posts ago:

                

 Suggestion #6:

                Use leading questions to get your friends and family members thinking about the things of the Lord.  There is always a ready resource for this kind of questioning in the news.  Watch world events and ask people what they think about it.  Ask them pointed questions about life after death and the existence of heaven and hell.  Ask them what they think about how a person prepares for life after death.  I also want to encourage you to not always jump in with the correct answer if they don’t give it right away.  Sometimes it is valuable to let them think about the questions you ask.  If you are gentle and compassionate in the way you ask, people will not commonly be as resistant.  Your questions may open dialogue in the future.  Keep them thinking.

                

 Suggestion #7:

                Be ready to answer questions you are asked.  Peter told to always be ready to give an answer for the reason of the hope that lies in us.  Why have you trusted God?  What about the bad stuff?  What about the difficult times?  Why did a bad thing happen to my friend; he didn’t deserve that.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you need to have a solid answer for every question that they ask.  The reality is that we don’t always have an answer.  Resist the temptation to try and defend God.  Our trust in Him when we don’t understand is one of the things that someone outside of Christ can’t understand without the experience of it.  It sounds crazy unless you’ve lived it.  Show them that you live it and answer the questions you can.  A good answer sometimes is “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

                 

Suggestion #8:

                If you are not willing to live your faith in daily life honestly and authentically, then please stop telling people you are a follower of Jesus.  We all have struggles and trials.  We all have things we are working on.  Authenticity is the refusal to pretend that everything is fine.  But if your life is not demonstrating the fruit of a relationship of love with God that comes through Jesus, then you need to change what’s happening in your heart and life.  You’ll only confuse people.

                We have plenty of Pharisees in the church who know and follow all the right rules and demand that everyone else follow them too.  We also have far too many nominal Christians who seem to think you just pray a prayer and generically believe in God, and everything is fine.  Let your life demonstrate to your friends and family that God is in the process of transforming you.  You should be in a growth pattern in your life.  It speaks far more to your friends than you realize.

     Let me offer you one final challenge in this series of ideas:

               

Suggestion #9:

                Be sure to tell your friends about Jesus and how they can have a right relationship with God through Him.  It’s good to give them reading material.  It’s great to bring them to church with you.  It’s even sometimes useful to use social media to get the message out.  You must pray.  You have to live righteously before them.  But at some point in time, after all the preparation of the soil; the questions; the prayer; you have to tell them.  Paul asked it this way in Romans 10: “How will they hear without a preacher?”  This is why relationships are so important in sharing our story.  You develop friendships with people and gain the freedom and the right to tell them about Jesus.  But this is also what makes it so important to be purposeful.  If you are the one with the relationship; you should be the one most concerned and you are certainly the one in the best position to see God use you to draw them to Him.  Tell them. 

     I hope you have been stirred to think about your relationships and your efforts at sharing your faith in these last few posts.  I have enjoyed thinking them through and am seeking to employ them in relationships I have.  Maybe you have other ideas.  I’d love to hear about them.  We’re in this process together as we journey toward Heaven.  Let’s make it our desire to bring as many others with us as we can by the grace of God!