One of the biggest obstacles facing us as Christians today is how to share our faith in ways that are practical and relevant, without coming across as preachy. We sometimes think that we have to say and do things that will make all the difference in the world and we come across as anxious, rather than convincing to those we try to share our faith with.
Rather than becoming fearful, we need to take the opportunity to realize that even the smallest acts of compassion can be evangelical in nature and draw people to the Lord.
Consider the following example taken from my own life.
When I was five years old my parents and I began attending a new church. At the time, I was using crutches and had very limited balance and mobility. I was still very much living in the shadow of a medical diagnosis which predicted that I would never walk, talk, read, write or go to a regular school as a result of having cerebral palsy. The Sunday school of this church was located in the basement and you had to go down several stairs to get there.
My parents were initially going to just allow me to stay in church. They were not sure how much responsibility the Sunday school teachers would want to take on. This was back in the days prior to accessibility and there was still a lot of fear and ignorance regarding people with disabilities.
One particular Sunday school teacher, however, insisted that I be included in the class with the other children. She carried me from the top of the stairs to the bottom where the kids were participating in Sunday school.
As I reflect on her behaviour now, her gesture was genuinely evangelistic. It was down in that Sunday school that I began to learn about Jesus, study the bible and pepper the Sunday school teachers with questions about who God was. Why did he paint the sky blue? Why did Jesus die? And no doubt, countless other questions. I don’t recall the exact moment, but somewhere down in that Sunday school, I came to the realization that Jesus died not only for the world, but for me personally and I accepted him as my Lord and savior.
Why? It was because this Sunday school teacher took the initial step of carrying me from the top of the stairs to the bottom so that I could hear the gospel message at a level that I could understand, a seemingly small gesture culminating in an extraordinary result.
If the obstacle you face today is fear about sharing your faith, take the opportunity to realize that even the smallest acts of compassion can reduce barriers and lead others to Jesus.
Terry Harris
Rather than becoming fearful, we need to take the opportunity to realize that even the smallest acts of compassion can be evangelical in nature and draw people to the Lord.
Consider the following example taken from my own life.
When I was five years old my parents and I began attending a new church. At the time, I was using crutches and had very limited balance and mobility. I was still very much living in the shadow of a medical diagnosis which predicted that I would never walk, talk, read, write or go to a regular school as a result of having cerebral palsy. The Sunday school of this church was located in the basement and you had to go down several stairs to get there.
My parents were initially going to just allow me to stay in church. They were not sure how much responsibility the Sunday school teachers would want to take on. This was back in the days prior to accessibility and there was still a lot of fear and ignorance regarding people with disabilities.
One particular Sunday school teacher, however, insisted that I be included in the class with the other children. She carried me from the top of the stairs to the bottom where the kids were participating in Sunday school.
As I reflect on her behaviour now, her gesture was genuinely evangelistic. It was down in that Sunday school that I began to learn about Jesus, study the bible and pepper the Sunday school teachers with questions about who God was. Why did he paint the sky blue? Why did Jesus die? And no doubt, countless other questions. I don’t recall the exact moment, but somewhere down in that Sunday school, I came to the realization that Jesus died not only for the world, but for me personally and I accepted him as my Lord and savior.
Why? It was because this Sunday school teacher took the initial step of carrying me from the top of the stairs to the bottom so that I could hear the gospel message at a level that I could understand, a seemingly small gesture culminating in an extraordinary result.
If the obstacle you face today is fear about sharing your faith, take the opportunity to realize that even the smallest acts of compassion can reduce barriers and lead others to Jesus.
Terry Harris
Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was two years old, Terry Harris in the opinion of
many experts within the medical and education professions, would never walk, talk,
read, write or go to a regular school. It was recommended to his parents that he be
placed in an institution.
In 1995 Terry graduated from Brock University with a B.A. in English Literature and obtained
a degree in marriage and family therapy in 1999 from Tyndale Seminary. Today
Terry coordinates an academic support program for children of offenders with the John
Howard Society of Kingston.
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