To start off, I have an extremely funny story to tell… Growing up, I had a dog named Ginger, and a cat named Mack. I named him Mack because he was an orange cat and reminded me of mac and cheese. I know, pretty random. I named him when I was five, don’t ask.
My cat would usually sleep with me at night, and he brought comfort to my very anxious five-year-old self. I would feel comforted when he was around. I also slept with a pink teddy bear that I, surprise surprise, named Teddy. I loved my pets and my teddy bear SO much that I wanted them to go to heaven with me one day. I’m serious…
Again, before you start laughing at me, I was probably around six or seven years old when I did this. I grew up going to church every Wednesday and Sunday and each week heard the Gospel presented to me. I probably would’ve called myself a pro and knew all the “right words” to say. I heard at church that all you have to do is “pray a prayer” and then you can go to heaven.
So, I witnessed to my pets and EVEN my teddy bear. I told them what they had to do to be able to go to heaven and explained it all. I pretty much begged them to accept Jesus into their hearts. I wanted them to go to heaven with me one day so bad. I know, it sounds just as crazy to me now as it does to you all probably! I blame Toy Story. But, there are some valuable lessons to learn from this hilarious story.
We need to have more child-like faith. The faith of a child that I thought if I told my pets about Jesus, they would go to heaven with me one day. I fully believed they would, I didn’t see any reason why they wouldn’t if they accepted Jesus. I had so much faith that I thought anything was possible.
We can learn from kids and their bold, courageous faith to tell others about God. I loved my pets and stuffed animals so much that I wanted them to join me in spending eternity in heaven one day. I didn’t want them to miss out on the good news and heaven.
Why are we so scared to share the gospel with other people that we love? Why is it so difficult for God to be brought up in everyday conversations? I struggle with this as well, don’t worry.
I think an easy way to get a conversation started is to ask someone questions, instead of just us talking and “witnessing” to them. Some examples of questions could be, How do you think someone will be able to go to heaven one day? What do you think it means to be a Christian or follower of Jesus?
Asking questions and seeing their viewpoint on this topic, is way better than just assuming what they think or know and just spitting out facts at them. It is important that we hear their opinions and show them that we are listening intently and care what they have to say.
In our response, we don’t have to be harsh and condescending towards them. Usually, in return, they will ask you what your opinion is on the question you asked them. This is your chance to tell them what you believe, without you telling them what you think they should be believing.
Let’s do less of attacking and more of interacting when asking questions about Christianity or sharing the Gospel with someone. We want to spend eternity with people that we love so much that we just have to tell them how to get there. We don’t want them to not know THE one and only way.
We have to give them both grace and truth. Grace and the ability to accept them for who they are, and truth because we love them so much that we can’t leave them in their sin. The most important thing we can share with our loved ones is the good news of the Gospel.
I challenge you that if you know someone that isn’t a believer or you aren’t sure if they are a Christian, to have a conversation with them or text them. Of course, it sounds and feels awkward. But I would much rather have a few seconds of awkwardness, than a lifetime of regret, says the legend, Sadie Robertson. It’s as simple as having a conversation with someone.
Just like how you talk about your favorite TV show or music artist. Talk about Jesus and what He has done for you. It doesn’t have to be awkward to talk about Jesus if He is as important to you as you say He is.
The enemy wants you to be focused on only the awkwardness and the possibility of getting “rejected” when you try to have a conversation about Jesus. He will do everything in his power to keep you from pursuing, loving, and sharing Jesus with others.
I don’t know about you, but that makes me mad. I’m not gonna let the devil win at keeping me silent. The devil will feed you only lies in hope that you will perceive it as truth. Oftentimes we do. It is time that we stop letting the enemy win, and we take our thoughts back captive. We need to be feeding ourselves truth daily by soaking in His Word and spending time in prayer with Him.
Let us go out and have faith like a child, that anything is possible with faith in God.