In our last post we discussed how Paul was sharing his life with the Thessalonians as he came and lived among them for an extended time, and he likely invited them to come to his workshop. As Paul spent time with people what did they talk about? As you spend time with people what should you talk about?
I believe that it is important to be able to engage people in small talk, but the goal should be to develop deep and meaningful conversations where people can be real about the struggles and triumphs of life. As a follower of Jesus, I believe we should be able to engage others in conversations about the meaning and purpose of life, which should lead one to talk about their beliefs and God. As followers of Jesus there is a way to do this that is not pushy or arrogant. There is a way to engage people in faith conversations that invites them to be open and honest, versus defensive. Just today I had a coworker say, “in the past there were two things I learned to avoid talking about at work. Religion and politics.” Yet today we talked about faith and politics in the midst of conversations about work and life. It was an open and beautiful conversation.
We already discussed that Paul was not looking to please man, because living to please God was his life’s aim. As he spent time with people, he was looking to encourage them to live in such a way that God would consider their lives worthy. Paul believed that God gave him the courage to declare the Good News, with boldness. I believe that followers of Jesus should be asking God to give them this same courage and boldness to discuss the Good News with their friends. We were meant to talk with others about issues of life, death and eternity. But we are meant to do it in a way that is humble and sincere.
So how does one share their faith with others?
The first thing that is really important when sharing your faith is that it is done with pure motives. (1 Thessalonians 2) The motivation for sharing your faith should come as a result of your love for others, and belief that God has called you to be His messenger of good news. And in today’s culture I believe that followers of Jesus need to learn to listen and care about the stories of others. We need to learn to be quick to listen and slow to speak. As follower of Jesus we need to stop defending our beliefs and invite others into a relationship with us. We need to show them how our faith impacts the decisions that we make. I believe that Paul set us an example to follow. He states in 1 Thessalonians 1:7 “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Paul seems to be stating that an effective witness for Jesus provides an example for others to follow, as they follow Jesus. Paul backs this up in 1 Corinthians as he states “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
As followers of Jesus we are meant to share our faith and I believe the best way to do it is by being a humble presence in the lives of others.
So here are few questions.
- Is there anyone in your life that God may be inviting you to share your faith with?
- What do you think about when you think about sharing your faith with others? What do you picture yourself doing or saying?
- Have you ever prayed and asked God to give you boldness and courage to share your faith with others?
- Do you know how to ask questions that invite people to think about faith and God?
- Do you take time to reflect on your day to see where God was moving in and through you? If not, you might want to consider learning about daily reflection questions that provide you with an opportunity to notice God moving around you.
Taking it Deeper:
- https://www.amazon.com/Questioning-Evangelism-Randy-Newman/dp/082543324X/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=questioning+evangelism&qid=1620092507&sr=8-2
- https://www.goodsoil.com/blog/does-relational-evangelism-really-work/
- https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/share-the-gospel/evangelism-principles/relational-evangelism.html
- https://www.abigailfolds.com/blog/john-wesley-quiet-time-questions
- https://revlisad.com/2019/02/06/ending-your-day-with-reflection-questions/
- https://up.intervarsity.org/resources/daily-examen
