Saturday, February 23, 2013

Be a Jesus Freak!

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

If I were to use the phrase “closet Christian” how many people would raise their hand excitedly and say “oooh oooh that’s me, I am that.” No one probably, and yet I can bet that most of us are like a “closet Christian” more than we would like to admit. How many times have you kept your mouth shut about mentioning God in fear of ridicule or judgment?

It’s easy enough to talk about the weather, sports, and casual things that don’t matter much, but the more deeply we feel something and the more personal and sensitive it is, the more reluctant we may be to talk about it, and nothing is more important than one’s eternal relationship with God. I am not even talking about full on witnessing, however we should be doing that as well and that is included in this stepping out, but even just mentioning His name makes people nervous.

Sharing and expressing our faith, no matter how big or small, especially in situations where we don’t have full control, can be risky and scary. Exposing ourselves to the unknown, risking failure, making ourselves vulnerable to the criticism or the mocking others can be intimidating. But I have noticed that when I do get the chance to share Christ and I take it, they are the most exciting times of my life, the spiritual adrenaline is pumping through my veins and I find tremendous confidence and exhilaration by knowing that I just brought someone to Christ or even just planted a seed in their heart. His kingdom was opened up to more people because my light shone.

What makes us hesitate to share our faith? We might justify our not saying anything with thoughts like… I am afraid I might do more harm than good… I don’t know what to say… I may not be able to give quick answers to tricky questions… I may seem opinionated and narrow-minded… I may invade someone’s privacy… I am afraid I might fail… I am afraid I might be a hypocrite. They all come down to one common trait usually and that is fear and usually the most common fear is to be rejected at least I know it is for me in the times I stay quiet.

Rejection by others is a real possibility when we share our faith. In fact, this possibility is implied by the word witness. Witness is “marturia” in Greek, which is also where the word “martyr” comes from. In the United States, we don’t have to fear the possibility of imprisonment or actual physical torture, though that may come some day. If we stand up for Jesus Christ, however, we still may be thrown to the lions when it comes to jibes, looks, whispers, avoidance of friends and people, and possibly even the loss of job opportunities.

However, Jesus made it rather clear that if we are going to follow Him, we ought to expect some rejection. After all, in Isaiah 53:3 it says He was “despised and rejected of men” and He tells the disciples in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” We are soldiers involved in a life and death struggle with evil, and we have to expect some hardship. The question is: Am I committed enough to Jesus to be willing to let people know that I am a Christian, even if I have to lose some friends or social standing?

I have a book all about the martyrs for Christ and there is a picture here. Not every one of those people in the book died, but they were persecuted in some way, shape, or form for expressing their faith in God. They were not ashamed of Jesus Christ, but what about you and me?

Paul said in 2 Tim. 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted". We are not told to invite it, or to provoke it, or to enjoy it, but we are told to expect it. What we have to understand is that this is not a personal rejection; it comes from being identified with God. He went through it and so did the apostles; and so have thousands of Christians through the centuries. If we face some ridicule and rejection, it’s nothing compared to what they went through.

So when I face the possibility of rejection over just mentioning the name of Christ, the question is: Will I obey God? Am I going to let fear and pride rule my life? Or am I going to let Jesus rule? The opposite of courage is not fear, but cowardice. Courage is just fear that has said its prayers – it’s faith that has taken up its cross.

Fear does not disqualify us from sharing our faith, but the best antidote to fear is love. If we mention God in a sensitive way with loving kindness and not hit them over the head with the Bible as most people picture when it comes to being witnessed to, they will more than likely listen. Share the love of Christ with people at the same time as you share Him. Let us have the courage to come out of the closet for Christ. He had the courage to die for us, we should have the courage to live for Him.

Lord, I pray that You would please help me to remain strong and live faithfully for You. Let me now be afraid to proclaim Your love to others. Give me the courage to stand up and share my faith so that others my hear Your word and may come to know You. Help me to obey this commandment with love and not fear. I have nothing to fear with you by my side Lord, help me to remember that and live by it. Thank You for second chances and for not giving up on me when clearly I have failed You more times than I can ever count. Thank You for Your love, mercy and courage to sacrifice everything for me and I pray that I will have the courage to do the same for Your glory. In Your name, Amen.

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