Fear Cause One: Hostility

Despite having quite literally the best news to share in the history of creation—our relationship to God can be restored through the free gift of Christ—we still hesitate to share that news with others. Why do we (and I'm including myself here) stay silent? Perhaps the most common fear we have is facing hostility from others. Our culture has transitioned from at least culturally Christian to one where God is at best absent, and people of faith are often derided and stereotyped. Merely demonstrating that we take our faith seriously sets us apart and can cause side-looks or hostile questions from our coworkers and acquaintances. 

Some people are hostile to the faith because of cultural prejudice (beliefs about the incompatibility of faith and science, for example); others, because of a negative past interaction with a believer or the institution of the Church. Some people know that their lifestyle conflicts with Christian teaching and are angry that believers would "judge" them. Regardless of the source of the hostility, the conclusion is the same: Something about Christianity is harmful to me. For this reason, one of the most effective things we can do in evangelization is relational in nature. We can best cut through the culture of reflexive hostility to our faith by providing a model of Christian living and of Christian love to others. But that's hard too! I'll talk about how we face that challenge next week. 

Challenge: Who around us needs to hear the Gospel? Why are we afraid to share it with them?