on the World Race each team does this thing called feedback. feedback is basically just a weekly meeting where everyone has the opportunity to give and receive encouragement and constructive criticism. sometimes my teammates give me verses to read, or tell me something they love about me and would like to see more of, or it can be more constructive. the whole point of feedback is to call each other higher, to look more like Christ. everyone gives something different, but almost every single feedback session we have had, i have been given the word, or a verse containing the word, or a vision centered around the word: BOLDNESS. it’s something the Lord has really been teaching me about and calling me into.
I have never thought of myself as a bold person, but I haven’t thought of myself as timid either, just kind of in the middle. I don’t take huge risks, but I’m not hiding either; i’m just playing it safe. because of this, sharing my faith with other people has always been a little bit of a struggle for me. i have always been afraid of coming on too strong, kind of forcing my beliefs down people’s throats, and just overwhelming them. i don’t want to offend anyone or make anyone uncomfortable. so in order to avoid having those difficult conversations, i have always tried to show my faith through my actions. striving to love people well, not cause any conflict or commotion by telling them how they should live, keeping the peace, just trying to be a good person.
but being a “good person” is not synonymous with being a follower of Christ.
Matthew 10:34 says:
“Jesus didn’t come to the earth to bring peace, but a sword.”
yall…a stinkin SWORD. so what the heck are we doing tiptoeing around other people to make sure they are comfortable. Jesus wasn’t worried about offending anyone, so why are we? we are not called to bring comfort and peace; we are called to bring them the truth. and sometimes the truth makes me people uncomfortable. the truth is the light that reveals all those things about ourselves that the lies of the world have hidden in darkness.
i recently had the privilege of meeting a man who runs a coffee shop in Kep called Kep Coffee. he talked to my teammates and i for hours, sharing his testimony, telling us about his ministry here in Cambodia, and his family and their story. he told us that he was the type of guy, that when he committed to something he was all in. he was going hard. FULL SEND. and that’s how we should be with our faith. he talked about how being “Christian” in America has turned into praying before meals and going to church on Sundays. it is missing passion and fire. we want to have God IN our lives, but we don’t want to make Him our WHOLE lives. he told us that he no longer refers to himself as a Christian, but instead a follower of Christ. a follower of Christ is someone who strives to live as He lived.
and the truth of the matter is, I can call myself a Christian, but I am not sure I can honestly call myself a follower of Christ. when i avoid talking to someone about Jesus or when i don’t share something that the Lord is showing me with my team i have been telling myself that i am walking in kindness and gentleness, not wanting to be pushy or burdensome; but in reality, i have been walking in fear and vanity. I think too highly of myself to put myself in a situation where I could possibly fail or look silly. at home, i don’t want people to think i’m TOO Christian. i don’t want to be seen as pushy. on the race, I don’t want people to think i’m not Christian ENOUGH. i don’t want my teammates to think i am “further behind” in my faith than them. i want to protect my image. i want to control the way others see me. i want to be loved by the world. and the hard truth that recently hit me in the face, is that if I am truly following Jesus, I will never be loved or accepted by the world.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as it’s own; but because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:18-19
sooo don’t just be a Christian, be a follower of Christ. Jesus was bold. we are all bold because we have the Holy Spirit within us. we just have to choose to access it. so I hate to be cliche but: BE BOLD. DO ALL THE THINGS YOU WOULD DO IF YOU KNEW YOU WOULDN’T FAIL. (side note: even if you do fail, im learning God loves when we fail for Him.) TAKE RISKS FOR JESUS. you have got absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
