Force-feeding

This is part two of “Speaking Boldly”. However this one is a caution to be taken in the case of speaking boldly. I want to make it clear that I believe there to be an important difference between being bold in sharing the gospel and being downright obnoxious.

Too many times, my non-Christian friends have told me stories of zealous Christians jumping down their throats and completely turning them off Jesus and Christian faith. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they’re mistaken to share, nor am I meaning to criticise people who are eager to talk about Jesus at every chance they get but I think there is a key point here:

We need to be discerning.

We can take our example here from the apostle Philip. This guy shows us how to be in tune with the Spirit to indicate to us when, where and with who we need to share. In Acts 8:26-39 Philip comes alongside a eunuch who is struggling with a piece of Scripture from Isaiah. The Spirit indicates this man to Philip and therefore presents an opportunity for Philip to share the gospel to a heart that is open and searching for Truth. The end of this story sees the eunuch getting baptised and becoming a believer in Christ. Now the key part here is that Philip takes his cue from the Spirit. He doesn’t begin sharing until the Spirit indicates the guy and tells him to. This is the difference. The eunuch was in a place to receive and so the sharing was effective.

Here’s another way to of to see it:

No-one gets a taste for food they’ve been force fed.

In fact they may never eat it again.

My sister has never quite recovered from junior school when they forced her to eat cod fish-fingers every Friday, to the point that at aged 22 she still can’t face them.

In the same way if we want people to “taste and see” the beauty of Jesus, delight in Him and regard Him as their “Bread of Life” then we must not ram the gospel down their throats. The Good News is something that deserves to be taken in carefully, that requires savouring, and, therefore, an open mouth.

We also need to be feeding ourselves on what we’re offering them. It’s like the poisoned apple idea. If we’re not eating what we’re offering, what’s wrong with it?

In other words, if we’re telling people Jesus will change their life and yet we haven’t allowed Him to transform our own, what does that look like to non-believers?

Likewise, we shouldn’t be handing people food and walking away.

We need to be inviting them to eat with us.

Think about when you’ve ever invite people to dinner. As the host you make sure of a few things, right? Like:

1. You are well prepared for them.
2. You know what you are going to eat.
3. Most likely you know what you that the food is good and you have eaten it before.
4. You are going to be present at dinner.

I, personally, would feel awkward if I came to your house to dinner and you said “Oh Isla, so glad you could make it” and then proceeded to get your coat, head for the door and leave me alone at the dinner table. Not good. In the same way, if you served me something saying “I’ve never tried it myself but someone told me it’s good”, I would be suspicious. It’s the same with spreading the word:

1. Be prepared. (Be spiritually fed yourself.)

2.  Know what you’re talking about. (Devour His Word.)

3. Live it out. (Practice what you preach, before you preach it.)

4. Be there. (Meet people where they are and love them.)

So yes I pray for boldness, for myself and all of you reading this, but I also pray for discernment and sensitivity to God’s timing and the indications of the Spirit, not just our own enthusiasm or intuition.

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Love you all. God Bless.