This year I followed the Love, Singapore series that led up to National Day and it was often really inspiring. I saw that young lady who is serving in East Timor and she was so full of passion to save souls. I often hesitate to share my faith because I worry about how people will react, and if I were brutally honest with myself, I worry about looking foolish. About how the other party will look at me, and judge me.
But I should not worry about the judgement of people, and instead I should worry about His judgement.
1 Corinthians 4:3-4 “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”
We are commanded to share our faith and it is really timely that Wesley has chosen to start the next Bible reading drive stage with 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 1:5-8 "For in him you have been enriched in every way - with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge - God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
We will be blameless because of His grace, because of the spiritual gifts bestowed on us. Gifts we have to put to good use (more on this later). Gifts of speech and knowledge. I think this is not to be confused with oratory and intellect because then it would only apply to a select few. But all of us are called to witness. Logically it should mean that at the moment when we have the opportunity to share our testimony with the person in front of us, that we will be or have been, equipped with what is necessary for that time. But this raises another question.
How do we decide when is the right time to share? (And how do we share? Perhaps a topic for another day) Do we hear a voice? Not that I don't think God will speak to us personally - but I think it is right to be sceptical in this day and age. I don't have answers but if someone said or did something controversial because he said God spoke to him, I would be wary.
How will we know when and how to share? Are we doing so out of love? And I think that is the key - Love is the key spiritual gift. Love of our fellow man. Because without that love, we are just mechanically carrying out the commandment, like "clanging cymbals" (1 Corinthians 13:1) I think love is the greatest spiritual gift because it guides us to do the right thing, at the right moment, in the right way. And I believe that applies to spreading the gospel.
More importantly, the person receiving the message will feel the love from you first, even if they don't agree with the message... yet. They will see the spirit working in you. They will appreciate that you try to share the message in a kind and considerate manner, even though they may think you are wasting your time. They will appreciate that you continue to walk with them even though they reject your message at first. Because you love them for who they are, not just because they agree with your faith.
And more importantly, even after they agree with you and accept Christ as savior, do you continue to walk with them? Or is it a case of "job done" and you move on? That's not love, that's bean counting. That's partly how my walk with Christ at first stalled, because no one cared enough to walk with me.
On a related note, and which is the real reason why I wrote this, prompted by the Love, Singapore series - what do you feel about that this exhortation in the series that Singapore has been specially called to go on this great mission?
All believers are called to share the Gospel so it is not a question of only the chosen, or the specially blessed to take on this duty. But it was something that nagged at me when I watched some of the daily messages in the Love Singapore series. There were more than a few references to Billy Graham who came to Singapore in the 80s(?) and proclaimed Singapore to be the Antioch of the East.
Maybe it is just unintended hyperbole, and makes for a nice soundbite. Even if it was, it certainly does not detract from the message to go out and spread the gospel. But we should be wary and guard against hubris and feel that we are specially chosen. Yes we have been blessed as a country in many ways, but it does not take a lot for pride to get in the way. The reason it bugged me was because we have seen before what it can do. I am sure that throughout history there are many countries which also felt they were especially blessed - and here the excesses of the American right-wing evangelists come to mind easily. Prosperity gospel preachers, the notion that America is God's chosen, Trump is God's anointed etc.
That last point about Trump is something I have written about before. About how politics has poisoned everything including the church. I just shared an article I read this morning about how Christians need to navigate the minefields everywhere in today's world.
What happened to Antioch?
1 Corinthians 1:31: "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord".
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