Fear to Witness
Fear says, “How will I be received? I may not know what to say. I may make a mistake, I may drive them away. I may foul up.” The one word used most in these fear-rooted statements is “I.” Fear is centered in self. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that pride is at the root of fear. There is no fear in love. You are not afraid of a person you love. When you love Jesus and people, you will do your best to lead them to Him.
“I don’t want to get involved with people anymore. Every time I do, I get hurt,” some will say. Indeed, involvement with people sometimes brings pain, but who do we think we are to be exempt from pain? The Lord we profess to follow became totally involved with people to the extent that it killed Him! The servant is not greater than his Master. If we follow Him, we will risk being hurt to share Him and glorify Him.
Never forget that those without Christ are in a desperate situation, regardless of how comfortable or prosperous they may appear on the outside. People usually can’t extricate themselves from desperate situations. They need help. They need someone to intervene. Without the loving intervention of someone, the situation is unlikely to change.
Intervention is necessary to reach others for Christ. Unless a Christian cares enough to take a chance in sharing the Gospel of Christ, the lost will likely die without hope, separated from God. There is always risk involved when you share Jesus. But agape love and trust in the Holy Spirit will enable the Christian to exercise the intervention of personal witnessing.
I’ll never forget what an emergency nurse told me one day: “I want to thank you for teaching me how to share Jesus. Reaching those who don’t know Christ reminds me of doing CPR in the emergency room. My ER training tells me that when they bring in a patient who’s not breathing and whose heart isn’t beating, Do something! Even if you don’t know what to do. Do something! If you don’t, they’re gone.”
Even when we’re not sure of what to do, we must trust the Holy Spirit and love enough to intervene. Sharing Christ is vital to those around us.