I have a lot of fears in life. I’m not one of the bravest people out there. I’m nothing close to the little miss perfect Christian girl worth praising about. There are a lot of things I’ve held back and still hold back from doing even now because I haven’t quite reached the point of fully overcoming them.
I’ve had a taste of being mocked, ridiculed and threatened on social media and in person for simply talking about God on my facebook wall. The thread of comments is still vivid in my memories, surprisingly. But one of the things I’m slowly but surely learning to fight against these recent years is this: fearing what people will think of me because of my pursuit of Christ.
As I reflect on this season of remembering the death and resurrection of my Savior, a lot of things come to mind but mainly Peter. He was SO SURE that he was willing to die for Christ but ended up denying that He knew Him as Christ was approaching His crucifixion – all for the fear of man and what might happen to him had he admitted. It’s a very real experience and I’m sure is relatable to a lot of us Christians.
I always believe, in spite of all my fears, that the truth must not be adjusted because of the fear of man. It is the truth that is needed for the transformation of man and we cannot be silent about it. How will they know if we will not tell them? How will they hear if no one speaks?
But hear me when I say this, both to you and myself included: The rejection and the distaste of God’s truth is a matter to settle between God and them, not them and us. Our job is to love others by telling them about the truth and telling it to them lovingly. What comes after that as a result is up to God. We are to remaind kind, compassionate and loving regardless of how they respond. As Christ said, “they will know that you are my disciple by the way you love.” Trusting God that He will work and prayerfully entrusting the hearer’s response to God is all that we can do. Beyond that is beyond us.
