“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 (KJV) Jesus couldn’t have made it any simpler. Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is the responsibility of every single Christian on the face of this earth. It’s our mission. Unfortunately, it’s a task that many people find very difficult to fulfill.
How many times have you felt embarrassed to pray in a public place over a meal? Do you carry your Bible everywhere with you for all to see? When God answers a prayer for us, do we openly praise him or do we leave God out when we are sharing with non-Christians? Too often we keep our salvation and our faith tucked away in a safe little place where we won’t be embarrassed or ridiculed.
Recently, a little girl who attends my church took her New Testament with her to school. During free time she pulled out her New Testament out of her book bag. Her teacher scolded her and told her to put it away. The teacher told her that she couldn’t bring it to school again. This little girl had nothing to hide. She wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed to pull out her Bible. She wasn’t afraid to share the message of salvation with her classmates. So why, as adults, do we find witnessing to be difficult?
Perhaps sharing Jesus is hard for adults because our innocence is gone. We know that we are not part of this world and that others may laugh at us or ridicule us. John 15:9 says, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Knowing this, it’s easier to leave the witnessing to the professionals, the pastors and the missionaries. Whatever our rationale is, if we fail to share the gospel of Jesus Christ then we are shirking our responsibility, our duty.
If you can’t find the courage to witness then find the compassion. We have compassion for starving children half a world away. We have compassion for people in countries devastated by tsunamis and earthquakes. We sit in front of the television and cry for these people. Can we not find compassion for people in our own back yard? There are people perishing everyday. People, friends, acquaintances, loved ones, doomed to eternity in Hell because we didn’t have enough courage or compassion to share Jesus Christ with them. Their lost souls are on our conscience and if they’re not then they should be. Suppose no one had shared Christ with you? If you died today, where would you be spending eternity?
Copyright Darcy Ingraham
