When I was in high school there was a girl who was adamantly opposed to Christianity. I was told "She's a pagan." by some of my classmates, but I have no idea if that was even remotely true or what she believed in reality. It was clear however, she was not a fan of the church. One day there was an email in my inbox that was addressed to somewhere close to a hundred students (myself included) from this girl. My memory from that long ago is not good enough to repeat it verbatim but the overall point was that Christians are hypocrites and do not practice what they preach. This letter was very angry and full of vile and at that time of my life it was very shocking to read.
Well I waited a couple of days and no one responded to these accusations. I knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me to reply, and so I began an email explaining that I understood there were many Christians who didn't live what they taught, but that did not mean we should all be written off. People will always behave like people. We will always struggle with failure and making the right choices, but this does not make an entire faith unworthy of consideration due to the faults of those who claim membership. The girl responded to me in an instant message the next day and we talked a few minutes. She said she knew that not all Christians were like that and thanked me for taking the time to respond. However, the reaction that was most surprising to me was a small minority of my classmates who were Christians. They chastised me for "airing dirty laundry" or "trying to embarrass her or hurt her feelings". I assured them I did no such thing, but it was a wake up call that even people who you expect to be on your side will turn on you when you rock the boat no matter the truthfulness of what you say. Despite this I believe the strongest and most positive reactions were from the majority of the Christians who reached out to me to express thanks for standing up when it was needed and others who responded to her in kind. There is nothing special about me or my abilities to reason, but when the Lord is your guide he will pick times to use you when it counts more than anytime YOU pick to do something.
There is a strong spirit that even effects Christians where we would just assume not make waves, but part of the faith of a Christian is that you should be making some. Romans 10:13-14
"For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved; How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?"
Am I sad I hurt those people's feelings? No! Would I have been sad if I had hurt the girl's feelings? Not at all! I am not in the business of apologizing for the Gospel. I believe it with every fiber of my being! Does a sixteen year old kid seem like the best candidate to argue theology? No. However, that girl needed to hear a positive Christian message, one that was genuine. Not whatever fluff and lies whoever she knew had taught her. People know when you lie to them and consciously or sub-consciously they are affected by how we Christians live our lives. We should never be afraid to rock the boat. Like the verse in Romans says, how can the world know about Christ if we don't tell them?
Isn't that the point?
-Jason
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