Natural as Breathing!

3/2/13                      Jerome          about 50

Today I spent the morning at a McDonalds, waiting for my car to get repaired at a nearby dealership, alternating between my Spanish studies and engaging in Gospel conversations.  A particularly memorable conversation was with Jerome, because it started so naturally and he had such a genuine interest in hearing the Gospel.  Towards the end he had lots of questions about how to read and understand the Bible – “I’ve read the beginning and the end, but I skipped everything in between because its so hard to understand!”  I counseled him to take it step by step, to start reading and following those parts that he did understand – like the Gospels - and gradually the other parts would make more sense.  It occurs to me that this is how we need to approach evangelism also.  Too many Christians simply write it off, thinking “I could never do that, I don’t have the gift”.  But the Bible doesn’t speak of evangelism as something that only certain gifted Christians should do.  It is expected of all of us, and the Holy Spirit within us naturally compels us to share the love and forgiveness in Jesus that we have experienced with those yet outside the faith.  But we have to take it one step of faithful obedience at a time.  Sharing Jesus came naturally for me today, but it hasn’t always been this way, and it still isn’t at times.  I am very much an introvert - I’d rather write than talk – and one look at the early postings on my witnessing blog (www.EverydayClub.blogspot.com) from four years ago and one will read about how I was filled with a paralyzing fear in those early months of initiating Gospel conversations with strangers.  But my hope and prayer was to eventually be able to do so naturally, and today I felt some of the answer to that prayer, and now I am getting better at witnessing in Spanish too!  Just like I told Jerome today – take it one step of obedience at a time – and eventually it will become as natural as breathing!