Permanent Tenant

"..so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

Ephesians 3:17

This is taken from Paul's prayers to the Ephesians after he tells the people in Ephesus the importance of evangelism, and I'd really like to focus on that part. 

Now, I haven't always had the heart for Evangelism. In fact, most time, I'm terrified of ministering to strangers and friends alike. There's always the fear of rejection and being uncertain of the right things to say - they are unnerving. Somehow, for me at least, Evangelism feels like a confrontation. That is, one is confronting the other about their faith, or lack thereof. And with those in mind, it makes it hard for a person (me) to work around it. 

And then there were and are people like Paul who, despite grave circumstances, still manage to spread the word and proclaim God's love and grace for everyone. Then I start to wonder why I can't be as brave or eloquent or faithful as he is. But then, that really isn't the problem. Comparing myself to another person - someone who did many great things for God while he was alive at that - won't help me minister to others or evangelize to them. So what's the point? I say, we - all of us who have this fear - should just suck it up and give it a try (and if they reject you, at least you tried and at least the seed has been planted). 

Besides, when we accepted Christ into our lives, we basically signed a contract and that involves evangelism. And we have to follow through with that contract (or we'll get sued for breach of contract, or unfaithfulness to Him whom we owe our Salvation to). 

I think an excerpt from one of my articles should aptly end this:

"When we feel shy or fearful, we should just bear in mind everything that the Lord has done for us – and I think that helps. After all, if we truly are in love with our God and our happiness is uncontainable, then spreading the gospel, sharing them to those who need it the most would come as naturally as breathing."

If we say that He dwells in our hearts, talking about Him shouldn't be so hard. :)