Intersections. They are all around us. I often find myself standing at the office door looking out toward Little Rock and Blalock as they cross a short distance away. From rolling stops to close calls, you can observe a little bit of everything in only a few seconds. Our theme for this year’s “Freedom Week” at Camp Vandemere in late June is related to the subject of crossroads and will consider some of the biblical characters who had important decisions to make in light of the opportunities presented to them. Like traffic and the men and women of the Bible long ago, we find ourselves at points where we too must be alert, make a turn, or sit and wait. A few years ago, some of the churches within our Convention embarked upon a study of a book entitled Living a Life on Loan in which one of the chapters focuses upon intersections. In this instance, it is the intersection of a person’s life with that of another. According to author Rick Rusaw, “grace takes place at the intersections,” but we, unfortunately, allow ourselves to “roll right through” without paying attention. I have seen it happen and, yes, I am guilty of it myself. We get in a hurry or distracted, and we zip right through without even noticing. It is true of traffic and equally true when we think about the encounters we have with other people.
Earlier this year, I shared a series of sermons based upon the mission statement of Little Rock Original Free Will Baptist Church and (hopefully) you will recall the first line is to “reach as many people as possible for Christ.” For some, this may seem intimidating perhaps as intimidating as sitting in a Senate confirmation hearing. Who knows? Some people may prefer the confirmation hearing. That is unfortunate because it suggests we have done something to make the sharing of one’s faith overly complicated. I recall some time ago hearing an individual exclaim, “I am afraid I will mess it up” with the “it” being a personal witness. I followed up the individual’s statement with the question, “What is there to ‘mess up’ about sharing your faith?” He responded with something like, “It is too much to remember and I do not want to misquote Scripture.” I believe that is a common sentiment for many people today in that they place too much pressure upon themselves to perform and fear what other people may think of them if they fumble in their efforts. If you find yourself relating to these words, let me offer a bit of reassurance. We have all been there at some point in time and God is capable of taking what we do in the right spirit and achieving something good from it. Here are a few thoughts about sharing your faith when the opportunity is present:
- Speak from personal experience about the difference that a relationship with Jesus has made in your life.
- Keep the witness centered upon Jesus and do not attempt to be the hero of your own life story.
- Do not overwhelm someone with a litany of Scripture references, but stick with three or four that are meaningful. Take time to show him or her the passages in the Bible and give him or her the opportunity to read them.
- Do not enter the conversation in an effort to win a religious argument or impress others with your knowledge.
- Express sincere interest in the person with whom you are talking and do not view him or her as an “easy catch.”
- Remain patient with the process. Not everyone is ready and willing to make a commitment on the first encounter.
- Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray for the person with whom you are sharing your faith. Pray for the Spirit of God to bring about conviction. Pray for yourself in order that you might put forth the best witness possible.
Back in high school, I took chemistry for a year and one of the significant projects was to memorize the periodic table of elements. We had to know the name of each element, its atomic number, and the symbol associated with it in order to fill out a table similar to the one featured on the right. It took some time and practice, but I succeeded in memorizing the table. When it comes to sharing one’s faith, it need not be as intimidating as learning such a chart for a chemistry grade and it need not be something which we must have scripted and memorized. Sharing our faith should be the natural outflow of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Take note of these references from Scripture:
- I Peter 3:15 – “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
- you have.”
- Luke 12:11b-12 – “Do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit
- will teach you at that time what you should say.”
- Acts 1:8a – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…”
- II Corinthians 5:20a – “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”
A few years ago, Christian musician Matthew West recorded a song entitled, “You’ve Got Something to Say.” The message of this work is exactly what I have been writing of in these few paragraphs. You may not feel as though your witness is all that strong and impressive, but, if you are in Christ, you have a testimony as to the difference God’s grace, love, and mercy have made upon your life. The second verse of West’s song states the following:
“Listen up, I got a question here
Would anybody miss you if you disappeared?
Well your life is the song that you sing
And the whole wide world is listening”
Yes, my brothers and sisters, you have something not only to say, but also worth hearing. Let your light shine and let your witness be real whenever and wherever your life intersects with others. Be true to the Gospel and allow the Spirit to speak through you.
Together in Christian Witness,
The Reverend Kelley Smart