DELIBERATE

Most of us are deliberate about most things in our lives.

Deliberate about the places we go, the things we watch or read, the company we keep, and the vocabulary we use. Being deliberate adds order and structure to life and usually brings about purpose and routine.
We are also deliberate in our attitudes, our disposition, our outlook on life, and our reliance on the Lord. These are also important conscious decisions.

Yet I can't shake this feeling that we're not deliberate enough about sharing our faith!
I'll be more specific: I can't shake the feeling that I am not deliberate enough about sharing my faith.

It weighs on me, more lately than it has in a while.

I realize the incredible blessing of faith, the amazing grace of God, and I want to share that with others. I want them to know Him. I want them to feel secure, to have purpose, to love God, to share in the joy and fellowship, to live eternally. My heart yearns for that.

But how is that reflected in my day-to-day life?
It certainly is evident loud and clear with my students. I am deliberate.
But what about everyone else in this vast city? How can I be intentional about sharing my faith in a way that does not turn people aside or make them shake their heads? How can Jesus or His Word be brought up naturally in every day conversations?

Certainly Christians are called to be noticeably different in our actions...but we're not only called to that. We are also called to purposefully share this blessed news of the Gospel.

So I have again been thinking about what that looks like from day to day. How can it slip in during conversations? Like with the man at the post-office who I chat with about every other week. Or with the lady who asked me to help her at the grocery store yesterday? Or with the gas bar attendant who is stuck in his little cubicle all day. Or with the strangers I see at the laundromat. Or with the dentist, who I see only every nine months?
Sometimes little ways arise for me to say something, but often I'm unprepared.
Or maybe I'm lacking in prayer.

Do I not see the opportunities because I don't pray for them?
Do I not have the words because I've not been praying for them?

There is just so much to think about in this topic of evangelism, this idea of sharing the faith. I don't want to become disillusioned with North America simply because the opportunities seem like they aren’t here, because they are. I know they are! It's easy for me to fall into the mindset that it would be easier if I were back in Honduras (maybe it would be; there I was deliberate and seem to have opportunities abounding). But God's people are called in every part of this world, even a wealthy Canadian city that believes it is self-sufficient. What a clear indication that the love of God is needed.

So what does this look like?
Definitely prayer.
Definitely forethought.
Certainly being aware of those around me…and how I can refer to Creation, or to joy or hope, or to timing and purpose.
Being aware of how the everyday conversation (which is the weather, 98% of the time) can be used to proclaim the name of Jesus. And being approachable. And deliberate.

May the Lord grant wisdom as we are called to be faithful in this affluent, proud nation of Canada.