Witnessing

Taking a short break from my series due to life happening.

I have been feeling that I needed to be a bit more forward in making my faith known. But, at the same time I am very reluctant to do so. One reason is that I have had many people push their faith on me in the past and I didn't respond well to it, generally pushed me further way. Beyond that, inviting people to come to church was something I didn't think I'd ever do, not really anyways. I've never had a problem talking about religion with others, but that has always been more of an academic discussion in the past, not a real discussion of faith with clear cut right and wrong answers. Beyond that, I couldn't really see myself inviting others to church either. I mean, I can invite another christian to try my church if they are not happy with theirs, but it's a whole different thing to try to get a non-church goer to attend. I was really unsure if I'd be able to start this kind of discussion or how I would. I was a bit scared that I might not see an opportunity or if I did that I might not take it.

Well, last night an opportunity smacked me over the head. There was no missing it. A little small talk, then he asks, "you're a Christian, right?" He had asked me that before and it had led to a random discussion with no direction or conclusion. But, last night he had some serious questions and was looking for solid answers. He believes in God, but is not a "serious" Christian. He had been influenced to start questioning some of the basic doctrine of Christianity, specifically the devine nature of Jesus. He seemed to be losing his grip on his faith, heading down the path of relativism. I did not hesitate to jump right in and answer him directly and without equivocation. He responded well and made a vague comment about maybe wanting to go to church. I ran with that too, and invited him. I didn't just leave it at that either, he gave me a somewhat positive answer, I told him I would follow up with him, and I plan on it.

For all my worrying about what I would do, if I could do it, how I would go about it... I got my answer. I wasn't nervous, saw the need clear as day, and stood up at the first opportunity. It wasn't until leaving that I realized what had happened. I felt good about it, but not proud. I was a bit surprised, but not shocked. I see it as a sign of my growth as a Christian.