Better at Sharing My Faith

I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.
Philemon 1:6 (NIV)

Part of the toxicity and vitriol of our culture is because Christians are too anonymous. A strong discipline the Lord wants you to steward is the sharing of your faith. He wants your worship, your service, your devotion, and your surrender of will to Him—but He also wants you to share your faith in Christ with others effectively and powerfully.

There are people around you that you need to interact with, whom your spirituality can influence so that they can become anchored in faith. As you’re conversing with people around issues of finance and social graces and what it means to be interconnected, do you interact with them with salvation on your mind?

Our faith is something we are destined and called to share. Paul is saying to Philemon: Don’t see Onesimus as a slave, see him as a brother because Onesimus and you, Philemon, are now part of the same family. Both of you are now tied together by blood. Both of you are living graced with redemption. Both of you are blessed by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. There’s a common connection that changes how you see yourself and how you see others—not only the sin connection, but the faith connection.

We don’t start our conversations of faith with what we believe about various doctrines or ideologies. We start with Jesus because when we start with Jesus, His sacrifice, His grace, His surrender for our redemption, His power to change human conditions, we realize we are closer in relationship because of Jesus than we are different without Him.

Paul desires that Philemon’s sharing of his faith have a powerful impact not just on others but also on himself. Paul believes that when Christians share their faith, they not only help others establish an understanding of God but also deepen their own understanding of Him.

So when you communicate with people around you, what’s more important to you?
Is it more important to you for people to see your point or to see your Christ and your engagement? What’s more important: your victory or the kingdom’s expansion?