The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1 KJV)

Have you ever been afraid?

I don’t know about you but I have many fears. Spiders, drowning, surviving an accident to become incapacitated for the rest of my life, public speaking, heights, rejection…that last one is a big one for me. Rejection. Would you believe that nothing scares me more than the thought of offending someone or that someone might not like me?

Why?

What happens if someone rejects me? Well, generally speaking, nothing. In most cases, nothing really happens if someone doesn’t like me. Yet, that possibility will stop me cold in my tracks. It will tie my hands, bind my feet, and remove my tongue from my mouth. Frequently, I find myself holding back the Holy Spirit within me and refusing to speak or do things when pressed because I hate inconvenience and I hate the thought of losing friends.

Society has trained us, especially now, that it is a grave error to offend anyone. Yet, I would argue that it is an even greater error to allow children to play in the middle of traffic without saying a word.

A mother was dicing onions one day while her toddler played in the other room. Laying aside her knife, she turned to place the onions in a skillet. When she turned back, she saw that her toddler had managed to grab the knife. A toddler doesn’t understand and will be offended whenever the mother takes the knife away. Yet, what parent among us would not immediately take the knife from the toddler?

The world finds Christianity offensive because they do not believe, they do not know Jesus, and they do not understand. What they do have is a group of ambassadors and priests of Jesus living among them who are called to walk with Jesus and to love as Jesus loves. Whenever we do not do this, we do a disservice both to the world and to the God of Heaven. Few of us walk with Jesus even if we think we do. This is why Jesus said that He would say to many “away from me, workers of iniquity, for I never knew you.” These were people who cast out demons, preached, and prophesied. Yet, did they love? Did they walk with Jesus? Or did they simply go through the motions?

If we truly believe in Jesus, if we believe that He is Salvation and those without Him are condemned, how much do we have to hate someone to avoid telling them about Him?

Therefore, friends, let’s cling to the hope that is in Jesus and love as He loves. Let’s share the Gospel to all with love, peace, and joy. What do we have to fear? If God is for us, who or what can be against us?