A few months back I shared a little bit about the importance of reaching out to new neighbors as a means of bringing the gospel to our communities, but since this post a godly sister in my church challenged me on one point…am I actually speaking His name or is this just a nice gesture? Did I include the truth in those baskets in any shape or form?
By God’s grace, we are seeking to be creative in reaching out in our neighborhood this summer. The Lord has been challenging me to speak of Him in all that I do. I don’t want to just be know as a nice family in our community, but rather a godly family! A few weeks back, the overabundance of whole wheat cinnamon rolls (thanks to Laura’s recipe!) I made gave amble opportunity to distribute some to our neighbors.
Rather than just giving them the plate of goodies, the Lord challenged me to include a note together with the goodies including Scripture verses. I was nervous and scared, but was inspired to step out in faith. I wrote a note saying, “May the sweetness of this treat speak of the precious Ultimate Gift of Christ Jesus who gave Himself for us!” Karis did a little scribbling and I wrote a Bible verse. My friend encouraged me to include Karis in the project now even when she is young, and allow the Lord to work through all of us. When she gets older, I will have her write out Scripture verses and more creative drawings for others and pray the Lord would use her sweet gifts to bless those around us.
Don’t they look yummy?
I am so thankful for the good work He is doing in my life. It’s not about me, but all about Him! Why should I be ashamed to speak His name in all that I do?
I recently have been wrestling w/ the question of how to communicate my faith in words, not just actions, to neighbors. I appreciate your honesty w/ your struggle and also your ideas of what you are doing and how you are involving your daughter.
Oh Lindsay! I wish you lived closer to me! I would definitely have you come speak to our woman’s group. (and teach us to make the cinnamon rolls!)
Hi Lindsay:
The great thing about the Body of Christ is that we all have such varied gifts. So your sister from church, you and I have all different ways of reaching out to others as led by the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe every person is reached in the same way, thus the reason for all the gifts.
For some folks, witnessing to people whether they know them or not is their style. For me, I prefer to build bridges first and then share about Christ at an appropriate time, often combined with an invitation to church. My way involves leading others to Christ through the building of a trust relationship. This isn’t about being ashamed of the Gospel at all, but more about a fit word in due season.
And Lindsay, there aren’t really all that many folks doing nice things. That’s the terrible thing about our society these days. Niceness is going away in our culture, which a trip to a grocery store or a ride on the interstate will demonstrate. People are in the mode described in Romans 1, even inventing ways of doing evil.
The fantastic thing about this mess, is that it gives Christians an opportunity to shine. The Word talks about our faces reflecting His likeness, as we change from glory to glory. You’ve got that kind of face!
I love how you are involving your daughter in your little notes,from such an early age.
I thank God for you, for your service last week and for your heart for God which shines through in every post. The Lord bless you more and more!
Anne, thank you again for your comments and dialog on this issue. Thank you as well for your sweet encouragement!
My final thought would be just an encouragement to us all to definitely seek opportunities to serve and minister to others through gifts and service, as you reiterated, but may we never forget the importance of communicating the reason for why we do it.
We could have just simply served in our mission week this last week and not communicated the reason behind it all, and those folks would have just seen us as nice people, and like I said, that will not lead them to the Lord. Many people believe that if we do nice things we will in some way gain our salvation, but apart from Christ Jesus these acts are filthy rags. Therefore, I want to be seen as having a purpose and reason behind each act of kindness and at least communicate the fact that we serve and love because He first served and loved us. That will make the eternal difference!
Thank you for being willing to demonstrate the love of Christ. I pray people would see Christ through your acts of kindness!
I love your blog. I thought I’d comment this time instead of lurking.
I’m sure that your Christian sister at church had the best of intentions, but sometimes with people in the world, such sharing can be a turn off to them. They shut down. You have to meet folks where they are. I think it is too bad that your loving gesture was criticized or challenged.
I’ll leave you with another thought from that great Christian, St. Francis of Assisi. “Preach the Gospel at all times. Speak only when necessary.” Your life is often your best witness, not what you say.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Anne. You do bring up a valid point. Actions are important…but they can often be an excuse, as you can witness in my story.
My first concern would be, should we be overly concerned about offending? The Word of God commands that we acknowledge Him before men – if we are not confessing Him we are denying Him (Matt. 10:32), and that the gospel will be offensive to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).
If I live in fear of offending, then I will never tell others of the love of Christ. I would rather them hear immediately that I am a Christian then be able to observe my life and see the difference, Lord willing. On the other hand, I believe there to be a greater risk of offending if I held off on communicating this fact, and they feel deceived or betrayed when we start telling the truth, feeling that we were just using them up to that point. This could come off as a multi-level marketing salesperson.
Yes, our Christian life can and should be a good witness…but how can it be so if they do not at least understand that we are Christians? They will only see us as good and nice people. Believing me to be a nice person will not lead them closer to the truth. How much more powerful a witness might I have if I communicate my Christianity and then allow them time to observe my life?
My attitude previously was that I just wanted to be friends and allow the trust to build in that way first before communicating the truth, but this way has only been an excuse for me. I have been riding this excuse in my neighborhood for two years now (since we moved here), and not much fruit has come of it. Her words spoke right to my heart! I was ashamed of the truth! I didn’t want to offend! She in no way was criticizing me. She was encouraging my efforts to reach out to my neighbors, but also challenging me to take it to the next level. How hard would it be to include a verse from the Bible or the simple phrase “God bless you” to communicate Jesus’ love?
How will they know unless someone tells them? (Rom. 10:14). Later on in this very same passage, in verse 17 it says,”Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!” Actions are very important, but as witnessed in my life, it can often be used as an excuse. There is a lot of “good” people out there, doing a lot of “nice” things. I want to be a godly family – I want people to see the connection between Christ and my good deeds!
uh…yea girl…the look yummy! tell me when the coffee’s ready? ok? love what you’re doing….
I love this post! It’s something I need to work on! With our apartment-building neighbors we have always been friendly and very giving with our food, help, time, etc. but it’s so much harder to “speak the Name.” I definitely think it takes a blend of doing and speaking and not too much emphasis on one at the exclusion of the other.
You are so right! We often say we are planting seeds for the harvest when we do some of the things we do in HIS name, but somehow His name is missing and they just think of it as kindness. You reminded me of that well today. Thank you! Our Sunday School class has been on mission this week at a apartment in our community. What a great reminder for me!
Great idea of reaching out to neighbors! Ok… so, I must have this recipe.
But I’m having trouble finding it on Laura’s blog. Could you post it perhaps?
Opps…I had the wrong link above. I have corrected it and now it will lead you to the wonderful healthy cinnamon rolls!
This is a wonderful idea, and I perfectly understand your anxiety of including the Scripture. I have missed many opportunities to witness to my neighbors. Perhaps, I need to step out in faith, too. Including your daughter in this was wonderful: she is learning from your example and will be more bold in her faith because of these experiences. Thank you for sharing this post.
This is something that God is teaching me in my life as well. I’m learning that serving God and sharing Him is a lifestyle, not an activity. As we grow closer to Him and as He becomes more and more apart of our lives, we can’t help but live in such a way that we are continually sharing Him with others. This sharing is not just in friendly gestures, but in stepping out of our comfort zone and truly sharing about Him and His love. I have a feeling that over time, we will find this step to be less daunting.
Continue to share with us as you grow and are challenged to share Jesus with others in more real ways.
If you were my new neighbor I would have been delighted to have received these and most definitely include your child in future efforts. The examples you show now will be remembered by your children. Besides, who doesn’t love it when little kids “write or draw”? This entry really kind of made my day. Thanks.
Peace be with you.