Christian Living

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Recently, I was having lunch with a friend of mine. The conversation turned to the challenge of balancing the demands of family, work and general life “up-keep” against our responsibility to share Christ with others. “I have such a hard time sharing the love of Christ with people,” he said. “I can’t seem to find the time. And even when I have the time I don’t feel like I know the Bible as well as I should and I’m no good at scripture memorization; so, I don’t know what to say, when to say it or even how to say it!” I have been pondering his statement ever since that day. And trying to find the answer to the question it begs: How difficult is it really to share the love of Christ?

Although it may be tempting for us to scold him for allowing his schedule and daily demands to put “The Great Commission” on the back burner; are our own struggles any different? And although feeling overwhelmed and under qualified doesn’t hold any more validity as a viable excuse than it did for Moses when he received his commission from God; there are probably very few of us who cannot relate to those fears.

Many of us have a limited grasp of deep theological concepts and scriptural issues and would be hard-pressed to lay our hands on any given scripture during any given conversation without a concordance or visual aides. Others of us are poor speakers and feel like we force our words and our attempts at sharing are disjointed and rambling at best. Still others are shy and uncomfortable talking to other people and have difficulty articulating their thoughts in a meaningful way.

Most of us, I believe, long inwardly for the opportunity to just sit and share the greatest Love we have ever known with a friend or co-worker; but we have barely enough time to say hello to our children after we get home from work before they are off to bed and we haven’t had a date with our spouse for weeks or even months; never mind the laundry, shopping, soccer practice, dance practice, piano lessons, teacher meetings, dentist appointments, cleaning the house, mowing the grass, fixing the sink and… “Was that the doorbell, the phone or the oven timer...It was all three!?...Aarrgghh!!”

So, how do we share the love of Christ and when? Perhaps it’s time to slow down, take a deep breath and re-examine what the love of Christ actually is and what it means to share it. I believe that all too often, we as Christians, approach our relationship to the Lord and our responsibility to Him in overly religious terms; “we need to evangelize more, pursue holiness more, be more victorious over sin and…heal the lame, give sight to the blind and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Of course, it’s true that all these things are good and worthy goals to pursue, but we must not forget that what we have first and foremost with our Lord Jesus is a RELATIONSHIP. Our life with Jesus is not only about the pursuit of holiness, the study of His teaching and obedience to His Word. It is also a story about a Bride and a Groom; about the mutual exchange of two hearts and the joy of experiencing His love and the miracle of receiving His touch.

But more important than our relationship with Him; is His relationship with us…His love for us. Everything we do and everything we hope to become is a response to that love. They are not now nor ever can be the reason for that love; only the most logical response to it. We bring nothing to the table but our desperate need. It all originates within the heart of Jesus and manifests itself as an unconditional love that is neither earned nor deserved. It is not about us…it’s about Him! Like the song says, “…not because of what I’ve done, but because of who You are; not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done!”

Perhaps it was the way we were raised, the kind of religious training we had or even our own understanding of what our own faith-in-action should look like; but I believe most of us have come to the conclusion that sharing the love of Christ is synonymous with sharing the Gospel. Some of us may go as far as to believe it is also caring for the needy, providing fellowship for the lonely and a shoulder for the weeping victims. And it is true that sharing Christ’s love is all those things. But I fear we may have gotten a little (as Anne Shirley of “Anne of Green Gables” might say) “dramatical”. Unless what we are sharing in Jesus’ name is “changing lives” or is a great “comfort and blessing” to those we reach out to; we believe our effort or service is somehow sub-standard. We are mistaken. Surely, the distribution of Christ’s love entails sharing the Gospel and, as we are able, meeting the felt needs of those who are helplessly watching the end of their rope disappear in the distance. However, take heart and rejoice all you shy, stuttering and time-strapped brothers and sisters. There are many other ways to share this love. Perhaps some so simple that they have eluded your consideration.

For instance, you’re headed home after a long day. There’s a line of cars in front of you and a longer line behind you. Suddenly, you notice a car waiting in a side street up ahead. He’s trying to merge into the traffic but no one will let him in. Will you? You’re standing in line at a local convenience store. All you want is a cup of coffee before you head to work. However, the elderly lady in front of you is slowly counting out her nickels and pennies to pay for a loaf of bread and some milk. Do you stand tapping your foot and looking at your watch with annoyance or do you send a heart-felt prayer to God on behalf of this widow and her coin purse of “mites”. And would it even occur to you to take the risk of asking her if you could help. You are at a supermarket. It’s Saturday, it’s crowded and you have a million things to do. In front of you is a young woman with desperate eyes, a worn and frayed winter jacket and two crying toddlers clinging to her legs as she pushes her all-too-small collection of groceries toward the scanner. When the total comes up, it turns out that she is a few dollars short. As she looks around in embarrassment, trying to figure out what items to put back; you notice the impatience growing in your fellow line-dwellers as they glower, cross and uncross their arms and sigh loudly. What are you going to do; look down, look away or join the others? Or would you offer to pay the difference for her, letting her know you’ve been there yourself to assuage any protests on her part. And letting her know that the God you follow wouldn’t allow you to do any less.

But what about our own families? Let’s say you have just come home after a long and tiring day. When you walk through the door your wife asks you to take out the trash and if you could possibly not track mud across the floor. Do you explode and complain about your day and couldn’t she just let you unwind and how about a hello first for crying out loud? Or do you take a few minutes to notice that it looks like she’s been cleaning all day, that by the look on her face she must be exhausted and all she asked you to do was to carry a bag a dozen steps and try not to treat her freshly washed linoleum like a barn floor. So, instead of complaining about her lack of sensitivity about your needs; you decide to concentrate on hers (and by-the-way, after 31 years of marriage I have learned this is always a good idea).

Once I came home in an emotional and physical state similar to the one I just mentioned. In the early years of our marriage (let’s call them them my ignorant years) I would have resented her insensitivity to my condition and demanded sympathy and respect (let’s call me an idiot). That day, however, I quickly noticed all she had been doing and the toll it had taken (apparently 31 years of observation and instruction had paid off). So, bowing deeply I said, “My Queen, you know I ever live to serve you. Instruct so that I may obey.” And then I gave her one of my “you do realize I’m kidding, don’t you” smiles. Her face lightened, her spirits rose and she began to laugh as she threw a dust rag at me. Later that night she threw herself at me; but that’s another story and none of your business. The point is, I extended a small amount of love that cost me nothing and changed everything.

And our children? Do you consider their failures as a personal repudiation of your parenting skills or do you come along side of them encouraging them and letting them know you have faith in them and confessing that you didn’t do much better at their age. When they get in trouble do you let them know in no uncertain terms that they screwed-up and “…how could you do this to your mother and me?” Or do you let them know that there is nothing they could ever possibly do that would make you love them any less and, yes, there will be consequences for actions today but you have faith in them for tomorrow.

Our daughter was no exception. She gave us all the usual problems growing up and minimal rebellion through high school. However, the worst was yet to come. In her late teens/early twenties she was going to college and working nights. She lived at home in an apartment/dorm room I built for her in our basement so that she could save some money. Unfortunately, her night job led to questionable friends, late night drinking, lying about where she was and finally the inevitable car crash. She was ashamed, embarrassed and fearful of how her actions may have affected our relationship. Sobbing and barely able to speak, she blurted out between gasps, “You hate me now, don’t you?” I put my arm around her and said, “Honey, I’m scared for you and I’m worried about you; but I will never not love you no matter what you do. Now, give me your car keys because I’ll be doing the driving for you for awhile.” Her words were full of protest, but her eyes were full of relief.

These are small things; but they are places where your Christianity can shine both in the marketplace and the living room. Maybe Jesus’ name will come up, maybe it won’t; that’s not the point. You’re sharing His love; it’s not up to you to make certain that He gets the credit for it; besides, He’s actually pretty good at taking care of those little details Himself. Sure, any person could perform these acts of kindness; but shouldn’t we as Christians be leading the way? Think of it this way: it may seem like a small act of love, but it was given in His name and for His glory. Who knows how far a little love filled with that kind of power can travel or how many people it could impact.

I was once standing in a long, slow check-out line in our local Stop & Shop. Everyone was complaining about the wait, the lack of cashiers and their sighs and grumblings were becoming a steady, growing stream. Over and over she apologized to each person for a situation that was not her fault; but by the frown lines on her face was becoming increasingly stressful to her. When it was my turn, she began to apologize to me as well. I quickly interrupted, “Why? Oh…wait a minute. Were you the one that snuck into my house last night and left muddy boot prints on the living room rug, threw my socks on the floor and ate the last piece of cheesecake? I told my wife it wasn’t me!” She stared at me for a second. Then seeing my smile, she began to smile and then laugh out loud. We had a short but great conversation about how everybody seems to be in such a rush to get to the next thing they don’t want to do. As I paid for my groceries and moved on she was still smiling. When I looked back I noticed that the woman she was now waiting on had begun smiling, too. For all I know that smile is still being passed from person to person.

Let me be clear about this kind of reaching out; sometimes it will lead to an opportunity to share your faith and sometimes it won’t, sometimes you will be thanked and sometimes you won’t, sometimes you will be able to look into the eyes of those you have served and sometimes they won’t even know it was you. In other words, sometimes you’ll be planting a seed, sometimes you’ll be watering a plant and sometimes you’ll be bringing in a harvest; but you will be every time shedding His blessings abroad, whether or not His name comes up in the conversation. Be content in the promise that when Christ’s love goes forth, it does not return empty-handed. And that even as the glasses are filled the pitcher never empties.

Here’s the thing. An eternal people who in faith allow themselves to be open to and be a vessel for the love of Christ, can release a powerful healing and blessing that will have an eternal impact on themselves and the people they touch; even if that touch is light and fleeting like the woman in Mark chapter 5:

In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse. The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. She had said to herself, "If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well." As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was well. At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" His disciples said to him, "Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?" But Jesus turned to see who had touched him. The woman knew what had happened to her. She came shaking with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story. Jesus said to the woman, "You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain." Mark 5:25-34


It was just a touch, a single glancing brush of the hand amongst hundreds of clutching fingers; but because faith and love were involved a healing power was released. And in the midst of being jostled, prodded and pushed along that day, Jesus felt that simple touch; a faith-filled touch that was capable of drawing healing power out of Him before He even knew what had happened. It was tentative, light and fleeting but it had an eternal impact on she who had the faith to reach out. And not only her alone; for the story of that faith, that simple touch and its eternal significance has been told from generation to generation for over two thousand years.

So, by all means go ahead and look for those opportunities to share the Gospel and reach out to the needy and desperate. There is great honor and holy joy in their pursuit. But in so doing don’t neglect the quiet, unassuming opportunities that present themselves every day to share the simple and uncomplicated love of Christ with someone who desperately needs His healing touch: the harried UPS driver, the overwhelmed cashier, the exhausted kindergarten teacher or even the half-frozen handyman fixing your roof. Because when it comes to a genuine smile, a friendly hello, a sympathetic ear, a hand held out in friendship or a grateful thank you; we all have the time and the talent for that…

…and there’s nothing to memorize!

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