“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.”
John 15:26
In primary school, I had a crush on a classmate called Cora. At recess, I would look to play with her, sit beside her in class, and even volunteer to carry her books home. As a child, I did all I could to impress her. Others around me began to notice, including her siblings and mine, and the taunting began, “Cora and Anton sitting in a tree…. “. One day, while playing, I recited a poem I had heard to Cora and her brothers, and they went wild. I didn’t realize how inappropriate it was.
I was both embarrassed and humiliated. The next day I tried to stand up for my honour and explained my reason for the jingle. They weren’t having any of it, and her brothers chased me home, laying the occasional boot to my bottom. My friendship with Cora ended that day, and I was devastated. I was publicly humiliated and rejected, and I thought I would never recover.
God has invited us to join Him in ministry to take the Gospel to the world, which includes our family, neighbourhood, workplace, and community. The problem for many people is that talking about faith is not easy.There is uncertainty that what you may say will be taken as inappropriate. There is fear of rejection, humiliation, or even the loss of a friendship. This fear stops many from stepping into the darkness of our world to bring light.
My encounter with Cora made me self-conscious about failure. I was only a child, but opening up took a long time. I was neither mature enough to handle the situation nor prepared. I chose to avoid anything similar in the future. I wonder if my initial reluctance to share the Gospel was corrupted by fear of humiliation or rejection. However, a friend reminded me that we are the second witnesses to the Gospel. Scripture tells us the Holy Spirit is already at work in the world, witnessing to the truth and preparing hearts and minds to hear the Word. The Holy Spirit has done all the hard work, and we are invited to come behind and share life, plant or water seeds of faith. You and I can spread God’s love without fear because the way has been paved, and we are empowered by that same Spirit to boldly go where we are guided.
Pray the Holy Spirit nudges you to be God’s witness to those he has prepared for you.