Saturday, November 22, 2008
So, I had this thought last night, and it might be totally random and not a very good point, but I want to spill it out.
Why don't we get excited about Jesus?
Recently I went camping with a whole bunch of my guy friends, and one of the guys who came was not a Christian. We had an awesome time hanging out, fishing, camping, making fires and talking about how we would fight bears.
The whole time we didn't mention Jesus once.
Why?
Because we were scared, or at least I was scared.
I figured that if I talked about Jesus, this guy would get annoyed/scared/frustrated/angry at the mention of Jesus. I'd been so turned off by Christian culture that made evangelism this fire and brimstone yelling in the streets with a bullhorn, that I was afraid to mention the name of Jesus around this guy. Not only that, but I've realized that I'm afraid to talk about Jesus amongst my Christian friends.
I have no problem talking about youth group, and how exciting the "movement" is and what awesome social change is going on because of Jesus, but when it comes to just talking about how much I enjoy Jesus, the words don't come out.
These last few months, my relationship with Jesus has been in a really good place. God has been showing me more of himself and showing me my own sin, and it's been REALLY good. So why don't I share it. When I'm sitting around, why don't I say stuff like "man, Jesus is so good." or something like that. I'm not talking about ramming a worldview or theology down someone's throat, but does the world know that we enjoy being Christians or that we enjoy Jesus. Why won't I let my joy overflow into words of praise around people. Maybe if people were to hear me get excited about Jesus, they would be more willing to love him too, or wonder about him.
I think sometimes we get afraid of sharing our faith. When I was in high school there was this Christian who wanted to share his faith with his friends, but he didn't want to say anything. He wanted his words to do the talking. James talks about our speech and our actions lining up, but I think that this guy missed the point. Talking about Jesus isn't bad. It isn't. Maybe it doesn't have to be arrogant or manipulative, but why can't I just share what Jesus has done in my life or share my joy about Jesus.
Anyway, that is what I'm thinking right now.