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Which way is the right way to witness?
I struggle with this constantly – being a disciple, a witness to Christ’s love, message, and mission. Not whether or not I want to be one – I do – but what that means in how I interact with others.
As a Christian, I’m called to love others without judgment. However at the same time, I’m also called to share the Gospel of Jesus’s suffering, death, and Resurrection.
And the truth is… I’m really bad at both of those things (sorry Jesus).
I’m bad at loving others. I’m bad at not judging others. I’m bad at telling others about Jesus. The only time I’m good at it is when I’m in a ministry setting where I’m volunteering or getting paid to do so, because I’m expected to do those things – and even then the loving without judgment is a challenge.
I wonder if I’m so bad at it because my impression from society is that I’m expected not to do those things. We judge others. We don’t love freely. We don’t share our personal beliefs out of fear of offending someone. And most of my life I’ve focused on what society wants of me, not what Jesus wants of me.
There are those believers who don’t specifically share about Jesus, but they live out the faith through how they treat others. Being extra loving and treating others better than they treat us allows Christ’s love to touch them through us.
There are those who speak out to others about Jesus without reserve or concern of being rejected (so it comes off as judgmental). They are trying to speak the Truth into a world that seems overly deceptive. But are they doing it out of love because they want others to know Jesus and find salvation, or is it actually out of judgment?
From what I’ve seen, it seems most people prefer the former type of believer, because it seems less offensive.
But then we get readings like this past Sunday’s Gospel from Luke…
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
Luke 6:22-23, 26
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.
Am I a false prophet because everybody loves me?
The Apostles and early disciples weren’t afraid to share the Gospel even in the face of rejection, torture, and death. How can I call myself a disciple let alone a Christian if I’m not willing to do the same? Is there a balance between the two sides that I don’t see on social media? Because typically it’s either one or the other, with few who are in the middle. Even in real life I either see people sharing Christ’s love with others through service and compassion, or people on corners with big signs yelling, quite hatefully, at others.
And then you look at this passage from Paul…
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-2
Jesus didn’t pull punches when He talked to people about their sins. But the ones He was most ruthless towards seemed to be those who strictly followed the law without compassion. And those who were more compassionate but didn’t follow the law…well, He still seemed to tell them to follow the law.
Which way is the right way? Are both right? Is it a combination of the two?
Is my fear of rejection keeping me from sharing Jesus with those He’s calling me to? Am I preventing others from encountering Christ through me? From experiencing His Love?
Because to be a witness means to be a martyr (martyr originally comes the Greek word for witness). Am I willing to die (even just socially) for Jesus?
