Afraid to spread the Good News? By Christina V.

Afraid to spread the Good News?

By Christina V.

Some of us became Christians when we were much older and some of us have been raised in a Christian home and became a Christian when we were very small. It was the latter for me. I have been in church since I was a baby and got saved at age 7. I continued going to church throughout my teen years and never once thought it was a waste of time or wished I didn't go. I enjoyed going to church and learning about God and taking time to memorize His word. When I was 18, I moved out of state and my family and I were on a search for a new church to attend. I started going to a youth group during the middle of the week with some people I worked with and eventually started going to that church on Sundays as well. My parents weren't on board because they wanted me to continue going to church with them but eventually, they were okay with it and glad I was attending church. Up until then, all of my friends had always been Christians, but I was starting to hang out with non-Christians from work and it was a big change for me. I wasn't used to people cursing and feeling like it was okay to party and drink all the time. I didn't participate in what they were doing but I didn't like being around them because I thought that if I did, I'd start doing the things they were doing. I eventually stopped hanging out with them and got involved with other people who were Christians and was very glad I chose to do that. During all of this, I met this guy who was a strong Christian and yet, hung out with those people and didn't choose to stop. I shouldn't have, but I mentally judged him at the time because I thought what he was doing was wrong. How could someone as strong of a Christian as he was think that was okay? But here I am now, at age 25, and feel like I couldn't have been more wrong. This guy had a completely different mindset than I did. He would hang out with these people, but wouldn't get involved in the things they were doing. He would talk about Jesus and invite them to church. He loved on them like Jesus loves us. Jesus says in Mark 2:17 (HCSB) "….Those who are well don't need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn't come to call the righteous, but the sinners." Take a moment and think about scripture passages in the New Testament. Jesus was around sinners all the time. The majority of them that spent time with Him ended up believing in Him and changing their life around. I have no idea if the people this guy hung around ended up getting saved or not. But if anything, this guy helped plant a seed. These people saw something different in this guy than they saw in themselves and other people they hung around. But with me, they probably didn't notice anything different except for the fact that I no longer spent time with them. (Now, I do want to say that, as a Christian, hanging around non-believers can definitely be a bad influence. We need to remain strong in our faith so we aren't tempted to get involved in what they are doing, but rather be an example to them. )

I no longer spend time with only Christians. However, I do struggle with sharing God with non-believers. I'm trying to work on this. I don't hide my faith per say, but I don't call attention to it or try to share it with them. I hope and pray that in the future, I'll be more open with my faith. I know plenty of people, friends AND family, who don't know Jesus. I pray they will all come to know Him. Another friend of mine said something to the effect of "You (non-Christians) may think I'm crazy for believing in God, but if I'm wrong, so be it. If (they're) wrong, they'll burn in hell." Harsh, but true. In the end, when it all comes down to it, Christians will be with Jesus in heaven. Life on earth is such a short time compared to life in heaven. Why are we, as Christians, so afraid to spread the good news? If we're afraid that we'll lose a friend, we need to look at it with a different perspective. You may lose them as a friend on earth, but if there is a chance that they can accept Jesus before it's too late, wouldn’t that be so much better than them not accepting Jesus and going to hell for eternity? The least we can do as Christians is share our faith and pray for them. Then and only then can make that personal choice for themselves. Mark 16:15 (ESV) "And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."