To be, or not to be?

"And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God." -Luke 12:8-9

This is a very scary verse to me. I think about the times where I have had opportunities to acknowledge God before men and I was afraid. I diverted the conversation or I played off the opportunity. Granted, there have been conversations with co-workers and clients where I seized the opportunity and was proud to proclaim Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have heard it said that it takes one lie to make you a liar. Jesus was disappointed with Peter after one denial, even though he went on to deny Christ 3 times.

I am saddened by how easy it is for me to avoid acknowledging Jesus. If Jesus is so important to me, and I am in love with Him, then why is it so hard to talk about Him. You would think that my love for God would exceed my desire to avoid the risk of making someone uncomfortable or being uncomfortable myself. If I am so in love with God, you would think that I would be seeking for opportunities to acknowledge Him before men. Especially because this is what He desires. 2 reasons, 1. it shows that we are proud of Him and 2. it allows other people to get to know Him more, that they may see my faith and want to have a faith like that.

Now I am not saying that I want to turn every conversation into a gospel presentation. I don't think that would be right. If someone wants to talk about it, I will talk. If they are not comfortable, I will not be as forward. The point is not to force people into choosing Christ. No, the point is showing them Christ and hoping that they will choose Him freely by God's good nature. I have found that most people are comfortable answering questions about what they believe and generally want to talk about what they believe. If I am interested in what they believe, it can be a comfortable conversation. Just by opening the door to what someone believes allows God to be working in their hearts.

The funny thing is I know this to be true, yet I still fear talking about Jesus. I hope I can search for opportunities to acknowledge Christ before men more frequently. I want to be bold for Christ and not fear man. I want my love for God and God's love for me to be more observable than my desire to be comfortable. I pray that I would not cover my candle under a basket. I tried to cover my candle with a basket and now the flame is burning the basket. I don't want to burn my hand!

One Love,
Danger