Stand For Your Faith
If you watch the news or engage in any social media, you probably wonder about the state of our world. It’s hard to be in conversation with acquaintances, work associates, or those we interact with during our daily routines without noticing how divided we are.
How then do we claim ourselves as Christians without creating animosity? Can we? Should we?
I think the answer is pretty clear. Putting Christ first is necessary to change the unfavorable outcomes we are already experiencing in our world.
Let’s consider three commonplace circumstances and how our decisions might bring others to Christ.
1.) Social Media. So your personal views are different from others. Do you share them or not? Why not make that decision based on content? Has someone tagged you in a post that goes against your Christian beliefs? Like pro-abortion? If so, you are called to stand up and speak as a disciple.
Chances are if it is weighing on your conscience, you are called to take action.
2.) Should I stay, or should I go? You walk into a social gathering and get emerged into an atmosphere of suggestive jokes and excessive drinking. These are your friends. Do you speak up or walk away?
As a Christian, your actions will speak louder than your words. While you may not need to make a scene, exiting a party or letting hosts quietly know you are uncomfortable will have a lasting impact. The more we tolerate, the more acceptable it becomes. While you risk offending friends, you also may bring someone to Christ. Which is more important?
3.) Telling Your Story. If you have been baptized (by water and the Holy Spirit), you have a testimony. You have become new in Christ. People are noticing. Sometimes they aren’t quite sure what happened. Sometimes they make hurtful comments.
Tell your story.
We believe that you are called to be a witness. When one life changes so drastically through faith, it is a modern-day Christian miracle. These stories bring others to Christ.
Each week you will be faced with opportunities to share. Will you do it?
We are called to take a seat at God’s table. That means we share in holy communion, and we do so as a remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection. But the real reason we do it is for the strength He provides so that we can stand up firmly rooted in our faith when we experience situations like the three depicted above.
Let’s stand with and for Christ.