We’re not alone in these feelings either. Moses was hesitant to accept his calling according to Exodus 4:10. Both Jeremiah and Isaiah were powerful and effective prophets for the Lord and each expressed some trepidation (Jeremiah 1:6, Isaiah 6:5).
Even Jesus, in all His wisdom, power, and courage asked God for some other way for His will to be done when He prayed: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” (Matthew 26:39).
But, Jesus’s prayer didn’t stop there. Nor did Moses’s service end in Exodus 4. And neither did Isaiah or Jeremiah cease to serve the Lord. In every case, the servants of the Lord continued despite any hesitation or reservation. Jesus prayed: “Yet not as I will, but as you will” in His very same breath (Matthew 26:39). These examples show us that even though we may be nervous, we may feel inadequate, or ill equipped we must have enough faith to know that the Lord has provided everything we need to be able to serve Him, and to serve well.
Maybe one reason we find it difficult to share the Gospel is perhaps we fear it’s too complex or that we won’t be able to answer any of the questions that a person might have.
It’s important then to focus on what matters most when it comes to the Gospel.
It might surprise us to think that we can speak of the Gospel in this way, to say that one part or another might be more important – but this is exactly how Paul speaks of the Gospel when he wrote to the church in Corinth: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” (1 Cor 15:3). Paul points to Christ, His death, His purpose in death, and how it was foretold by the word of God that came before it in the Holy Scriptures and calls this “of first importance”.
If we can communicate only one thing, let it be this. In fact, earlier in the same letter, Paul reminds his readers how this had been the defining summary of his message: “When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:1-2).
So we too pray that we can overcome our fear, our hesitation, and our reservations with sharing the Gospel. If nothing else we can follow the example of Paul, we can share what is of first importance, and we can resolve to know of nothing else but Christ and Him crucified.
In this simple truth, we know we have peace, forgiveness, salvation, and grace. Don’t keep it to yourself.
