Unless you’re one of those on-fire, gifted, passionate evangelists who divinely figures out how to turn a conversation about yesterday’s baseball game into a matter of eternal salvation, the hard, cold reality is that sharing our faith for most of us can be like having a root canal without anesthesia.

I hate that! 

I think I have a pretty good understanding of God’s love for me.  After all, it changed my life.  So if He loves me as much as I believe He does, why is it so challenging at times for me to share his love with others?

The following quote really put this concept into perspective for me.

"If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn't it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind? How much more inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages of death." – Dave Davidson

So I’ve really been noodling on this issue—what is it that makes it hard for us to share our faith?  Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately depending on how badly you really want to know) I think the answer comes down to matters of the heart.

After a long, painful time of introspection, I’ve boiled it down to five “obstacles” (a pretty word for “excuses”) that most of us struggle with.  See if you can relate.

1)      Fatigue – Not long ago I was taking an evening walk to unwind.  Several yards away were two young men sitting on a bridge smoking and joking (I could tell by the laughter).  I felt like the Lord prompted me to go over to them and just engage them in conversation.  I told the Lord I was tired.  He said go anyway.  I told the Lord again I was tired.  He said, “I know.  Go anyway.”  Sad to say, but on that hot summer night, I failed.  Fatigue won.

2)      Apathy – Let’s face it.  The world is filled with people who we really don’t like.  People who cut you off in traffic, arrogant co-workers, the guy up the street who never stops talking—you know, people who are the fingernails on our chalkboard of life.  I avoid those people.  I hate to say it, but sometimes I work hard to avoid them.  I don’t really care about them.  But God does—deeply.

3)      Fear – It took me five years before I mentioned Jesus to my next door neighbor where we used to live.  He was an engineer, and a whole lot smarter than me.  He was an obsessive perfectionist, and in his eyes, his opinions were fact, because they were his opinions and that’s the only reason he needed.  But when his marriage began to fall apart I decided it was time to quit worrying about what he would think of me, or if he was smarter than me, and share the hope that I knew could bring healing and hope to their lives.  I decided then that the honor of my Lord and need of others was more important than my fears.

4)      Anger – Since 9/11 a lot of Christians have adopted an attitude of anger toward those who hate us.  I heard a brother once say, “Turn the Middle East into a parking lot!”  Hmmm, not exactly “for God so loved…”  But in truth, it’s easy for us to look at the evil in this world and figure they get what they deserve.  Thank God that wasn’t His attitude toward me.  But God forgive me if that’s my attitude toward others.

5)      Time – There are times I think, “If my phone goes off one more time, I’m going to throw it in the ocean.”  Our world demands that we multi-task.  We have to get to work, drop the kids off at school, make it to five meetings in a day, squeeze in a greasy burger and two Tums for lunch, leave work to get the kids from school, drop them off at practice, run to the store, pick them up from practice and get home in time to watch the news and try to get to sleep.  I don’t have time for the lost.  But in God’s economy, maybe that’s all I should have time for.

Here’s the bottom line.  We can always find a reason not to share Christ—that’s easy.  What if we decided that the lost deserve the same value in our hearts that they have in God’s?  Maybe we’d lose the excuses and change our priorities.  Something to think about—just sayin.

So how can we overcome these obstacles? A obvious answer is prayer. God can help us overcome any obstacle. But we also need guidance and the right tools. It's hard to overcome any obstacle without help!  We are only human, right!  Well, you don't have to do it alone. We devloped a new curriculum all about sharing your faith, it's called Bold. It's time we stopped making excuses!  You really need to check it out. Bold features people like you and me living life boldly by not being afraid to share their faith.  Did we mention it's free?  So spread the word and Get Bold Now!

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