Can I Be A Witness?

Truth be told, I've never witnessed to someone about my faith in Christ.  I have the things I've written, and I've been a part of things I find to be a powerful witness, and I try to live my life in such a way as to be an example to others, but I've never actually witnessed.  Most of us really haven't, I would guess.  Why is that?

Honestly, there's no excuse.  There are reasons I could come up with, but in the end, they all fall short, due to the gravity of what we're dealing with.  Witnessing about Christ is not simply an attempt to change someone's opinion about something.  It's not about getting someone on your side, or to see your point of view.  It's not about making a connection or creating a new friendship.  It's not about showing people things in their life that are causing them to stumble.  It's not about showing people how to make better choices and live happier lives.  Such things may be a side effect, but this isn't why we should witness to others about Christ.

Here is the absolute, non-sugar-coated reason why we witness about Christ: because those people who end life with Jesus as their savior have no destination but Hell.  It's a terrifying thought, and yet we allow people to come in and out of our worlds every day without being the hands and feet of Jesus in their lives.  When we allow our own fears, our own pride, or any other of our own issues to come in the way of showing the love of Jesus to another person, we are giving our present circumstances more worth than that person's eternity.  There is no question that we should value the eternities of each and every human on this planet more than our temporary feelings of discomfort.

I pray that God brings people into my path to allow me to be the witness for Him that I should have been all along, and that when that happens, He will provide me with the words to say, and that I will not back away into the shadows because of my own fear.  I pray that God will show me that that person is loved, just like I am, and that he or she needs the forgiveness and grace that I have already accepted into my own life.