A bit of connection

Another thing I worked out at CU (don't ask me what we were supposed to be doing, I got all this instead :-P), was a bit of a combination of a load of things I've written about before,

I do rememmber actually - we were talking about evangelism amongst our peers, and answering people when they ask us.

But I really feel I have to challenge that. I think that if we wait for people to ask us about our faith, it will be ages before we ever get anywhere, and it will be an incredibly slow process. Jesus, Paul, the Apostles didn't wait, but went around speaking into people's lives.

I think we need to be prepared, as I have discussed before, to speak directly to people about Jesus and not be afraid of what they think.

To balance this though, I don't advocate a soap-box method of hell-fire and brimstone shouting. I still think there is a right way to go about it, which is not that.

I believe to be heard we need to earn the right to speak. Whilst I have mentioned that Jesus and Paul just went and spoke without waiting to be asked, I still think that they earned the right to speak. Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was 30 and a fully trained Rabbi. In his cultural setting by spending all that time in training, he had earned, in the eyes of the people, the right to speak. (Now Jesus also spoke with an authority that made him stand out from his contemporaries, and I believe we need that, but don't have the time or knowledge to discuss that right now). Paul also was a top ranking Pharisee and recognised for this. He also went to places were speaking was practiced - synagogues, philosophers gatherings - as well as doing background research (so to speak) about the people he was speaking to (he wandered around Athens getting a feel for his audiences religiosity). And so too I believe we need to earn the right to speak to the people around us, and I would argue that this involves speaking at the right time and place and getting to know the people you are speaking to.

I don't agree with waiting for people to ask us, because even though it's scary, I am convinced the correct path is to speak into people's lives directy, having earned the right to do so.


To link it back to older thoughts, I think that we're going to be hated. What we have to say is offensive to people and in today's culture we are going to be considered arrogant, closed-minded and foolish, but we need to speak out. This is why we are afraid to speak to people, because we are worried they will think this of us, but think - when someone disagrees with you strongly they are vocal about it back to you, unafraid of you disliking them. They consider what they have to say more important than what you think of them. How much more should this be true of us as Christians with the message that we have of Jesus?

We need to speak out, regardless of the outcome, having earned the right to speak. We need to not worry about what they think, but speak the truth. Read the below:

1 Peter 3:15-17

We are probably familiar with the first verse, but look at the rest. We need to not be afraid of what people think or say when we share the good news. Because even if they are malicious about us, they will be ashamed if we are living Christlike lives. If we are living good lives, and are connected in Unity (as in my last post), then even if they disagree with what we say, they will be ashamed to speak against us.

Because the other thing is it is more important for us to correct people and guide them in truth than be quiet and have them think we are "nice people". We have this bad habit of thinking that if people think we are nice then they'll be attracted to God, because they'll see Him as nice too. But they don't see Him as nice even if we are nice. They'll think He is powerless, uncaring with no strong important views to express, happy with them as they are because they haven't heard otherwise. We need to help others get to know Jesus, because that is the most important thing going.


So we need to live lives worthy of Jesus, be connected in Unity and, having earned the right to speak through our love and kindness in our friendships, we can speak to them about the good news, even if it seems tough.



BUT.

This is why persecution will happen. We know that persecution is a good sign, because it's what happens to true followers of Christ. But we seem to think that it will happen because one day some non-Christians will decide they don't like Christians. This isn't true. The reason that Christians get persecuted is that they speak the truth boldy and fearlessly, even when it flies in the face of society and strong opposition. It happens because Christians tell people that everyone is sinful when people don't want to hear that, it happens because Christians tell people they need God when people want to be self sufficient and do what they want to do. The world will persecute Christians because Christians make them uncomfortable. (Keep in mind that as much as it is important to say these things, they are always to be done with gentleness and respect, having earned the right to speak through love and kindness). That is why Godly people will be persecuted. That is how we will hurt them (salt and light in previous post, what we say will hurt). That is why we'll suffer (because people will hate us, possibly attack us, family may disown us, because we say and do what is right, in the face of an opposing society, group or individual).


I realise that this is really tough, but this isn't a call to condemn people for certain sins or anything, but a call to speak the gospel boldly to people. For me this massively connects a whole load of the things that I have been thinking about and is, again, challenge that as a Christian I must take, despite discomfort, despite fear, despite possible opposition, persecution, rejection and so on.

We must speak out to people, in truth and love, having earned the right with our lives and our love, even with the possibility of bad outcomes. For Jesus sake.