I cannot remember when I last found it difficult to witness, but I do recognize the fear of destroying a good relationship by asking the “right” question – mainly because I am so afraid that my friends shall feel that for me they are nothing but “objects of my mission”. So “witnessing is easy, but evangelizing is hard” in my life - at least when we think of an “eyeball to eyeball” situation.
At the same time a relationship can suffer if I never ask.
This was revealed to me when I some years back asked a study-mate of me:
“How are you?”
Her reply was:
“How is your relationship with God, you mean?”
She had heard my witness, and for quite some time she had expected me to challenge her, because she wanted to speak with me about this matter. Of course she gave me an opportunity
… but she also gave me a wake-up call.
But it can still be hard…
- are you saved?
At the same time a relationship can suffer if I never ask.
This was revealed to me when I some years back asked a study-mate of me:
“How are you?”
Her reply was:
“How is your relationship with God, you mean?”
She had heard my witness, and for quite some time she had expected me to challenge her, because she wanted to speak with me about this matter. Of course she gave me an opportunity
… but she also gave me a wake-up call.
But it can still be hard…
- are you saved?
Concise and well directed thoughts, Joe. Thanks for taking this time to address a subject many of us tend to let slip through the cracks.
ReplyDelete--Brad