A Friendly Conversation 放胆分享
Dexu Xia
[Pray for me] that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6:19
Catherine and I were good friends in high school. When we weren’t talking on the phone, we were passing notes in class to plan our next sleepover. Sometimes we rode horses together and partnered on school projects.
One Sunday afternoon, I started to think about Catherine. My pastor had spoken that morning about how to have eternal life, and I knew my friend didn’t believe the Bible’s teachings the way I did. I felt a burden to call her and explain how she could have a relationship with Jesus. I hesitated, though, because I was afraid she would reject what I said and distance herself from me.
I think this fear keeps a lot of us quiet. Even the apostle Paul had to ask people to pray that he would “fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). There’s no getting around the risk involved with sharing the good news, yet Paul said he was “an ambassador”—someone speaking on behalf of God (v. 20). We are too. If people reject our message, they’re also rejecting the One who sent the message. God experiences the sting along with us.
So what compels us to speak up? We care about people, like God does (2 Peter 3:9). That’s what led me to finally call Catherine. Amazingly, she didn’t shut me down. She listened. She asked questions. She asked Jesus to forgive her sin and decided to live for Him. The risk was worth the reward.
Whom might God want you to speak to on His behalf? What’s stopping you? What effect would prayer have on this situation?
Dear Father, give me the courage to reach out to people who don’t know You. Give me wisdom to know when and how to start conversations about You.
也为我祈求，使我得着口才，能以放胆开口讲明福音的奥秘。—以弗所书6章19节
凯琳是我高中时的好朋友。那时，我们常常不是讲电话，就是在课堂上传纸条，计划下一次去谁的家过夜。我们会一起骑马，也会一起完成学校的课堂作业。
一个星期天下午，我想起了凯琳。那天早上我的牧师谈到如何得到永生，我知道凯琳并不像我那样相信圣经的教导，我有负担要打电话给她，告诉她如何与耶稣建立关系。但我却犹豫了，因为我怕她不会接受我所说的并疏远我。
我想，正是这样的恐惧，让我们很多人都保持沉默。即便是使徒保罗也曾请人为他祷告，好让他能“放胆开口讲明福音的奥秘”（以弗所书6章19节）。分享福音带有不可避免的风险，但保罗说他是代表上帝发声的“使者”（20节），我们也是！如果人们不愿接受我们传讲的信息，就是拒绝那位发送信息的上帝，而上帝也会和我们一起经历这份伤痛。
那么，是什么促使我们开口向人传福音呢？是因我们关爱他人，而上帝也是如此（彼得后书3章9节）。这份关爱使我最终打电话给凯琳。奇妙的是，她没有拒绝我跟她分享福音，反而认真地聆听且提出疑问。最后，她祈求耶稣赦免她的罪，并决定为耶稣而活。冒险分享福音绝对值得！
你觉得上帝希望你代表祂去向谁传福音呢？是什么拦阻了你？
祷告对这种情况会有什么帮助？当我们藉着祷告去爱人时，耶稣也会替我们祈求。
亲爱的天父，请赐我勇气去关心还不认识祢的人。
求祢赐我智慧，让我知道该在何时,并如何开启与祢有关的话题。