Hi friends!
I hope you’ve been having a great start to the summer! I just- literally a few hours ago- got home from a mission trip to Anguilla (in the British West Indies), and even though I’m exhausted (going through airport security and immigration three times in a day will do that to you), the trip was well worth it. I can’t even tell you how spiritually uplifting it was just for us on the mission team- and we weren’t even the ones being evangelized! If you’ve never been on a mission trip, I definitely recommend it! This trip was honestly one of the best things I have ever done. It’s utterly amazing how many friendly and welcoming people you can meet- especially in the Caribbean. Everyone says hello, even to random foreigners, and everyone is smiling almost all the time. The whole time I was there, I never met a stranger.
And you know what the best part of it was? No one was afraid to talk about the Bible. Even the non-Christians on the island would discuss spiritual matters freely- in fact, they liked it! Of course, they would talk about anything else just as freely, but the Bible was not a topic to be avoided. Sisters, that amazes me. And the fact that it is so amazing strikes me as very sad.
Why aren’t we the same way? I’m this way often too- we want to talk about almost anything but God’s Word. We can discuss TV shows or music or basketball all day long, but we tend to change the subject when someone brings up the Scriptures. Now, I know we can’t talk about the Bible all the time and never speak of anything else, but why do we get so nervous in Biblical discussions?
Oftentimes, it’s not because we’re trying to hide our Christianity. In Matthew 10:32, we are told to proclaim Jesus before men in order for Him to proclaim us before the Father. If someone asked you if you were a Christian, you would most likely confidently respond “yes” right away. We’re all pretty proud of our Christianity, ladies; I don’t think that’s the problem. So what is the problem?
Are we afraid of being rejected by our friends? I’ll be frank here- if they hate the very idea of your being a Christian, then they aren’t worth your friendship. But chances are, even if they aren’t a Christian themselves, they’re probably okay with at least tolerating the fact that you are. And we know that, sisters.
Are we afraid that we don’t know enough to answer any questions our friends might have? We have Google at our fingertips. Even if we don’t know the answer and can’t find someone who does, we can pull out our phone and have the answer within minutes. Again, I don’t believe that’s the issue.
Now, I may be wrong about this, but I think it’s just because we never know how to work the Bible into everyday discussion. The Bible is a serious subject, and most of the time, we don’t have serious conversations with our friends. We have light, funny, casual conversations, and it’s very hard to transfer from silly to sober. That’s a very awkward transition, and maybe sometimes (I’ve been guilty of this myself) we might be worried we will bore our friends. Humor and silliness is entertaining, and sometimes seriousness can definitely take some of the excitement away.
But the Bible is anything but boring, sisters! When you think about it, the Bible has everything a good obsess-worthy book or movie has! You want action? Check out the accounts of Joshua, Samson, or the judge Ehud. King David himself spent a lot of time in battle! You like romance? Ever heard of the story of Ruth? Is drama your style? The story of David and Bathsheba is soap-opera worthy. Do you like the inspirational stories about rising from the bottom to the top? Check out the story of Joseph. There are so many different topics covered, and they most certainly ARE NOT BORING!
The thing is, we keep waiting for the right time to introduce the Bible into the conversation. And usually, the more we wait, the farther away the conversation gets from the Bible. When it comes to the Bible, we should never wait, sisters. With anything Spiritual, the right time is always RIGHT NOW. Whether it’s talking to your friends about the Bible or getting baptized, the longer we wait, the harder it is to do. The “right time” rarely comes on its own.
We don’t know how much time we have left, ladies. If we just keep waiting, we may miss the many opportunities we already have. The Bible is more important than all of the other subjects to talk about out there, and it’s urgent to get the Word out. I know we are often busy and rushing from place to place, and if we do it right, conversations about the Bible are deep and long. But we should always make time for the Bible, sisters.
That’s the thing about the islands. The people there always have time for the Bible, and they understand that the Scriptures are important enough to replace other conversation. We shouldn’t mind to talk about the Bible instead of other things. The conversation may be longer and not as light or casual, but it may be the most important conversation you’ll ever have.
This week, let’s not be afraid to shift the conversation to Christ. You can stop waiting for the right time- it’s here; it’s now!
Just keep calm and jump in!
Mia
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