To Share or not to Share

It is always worth the risk

Should we share our lives with others?

Relationships take work.  Investment.  Vulnerability.  Energy. Patience.  Sometimes grief, loss, or suffering.  They can take the life out of us if we let them.

Should we let relationships zap the life out of us?

I believe that Christ’s answer would be 1000 times yes. Let me explain.

 1 John 3:16 says “This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”  And Jesus said :  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

Paul adds to the discussion, by stating “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,”  (Ephesians 5:1-2), and “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me”  (Phillipians 2:17-18).

Oswald Chambers suggests that we “continue to be filled (Ephesians 5:18) and the sweetness of our vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of us as it has been given to us” …..” Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.”  ¹

My understanding from these scriptures and from Oswald’s insight is this: God’s desire is that we put our whole heart and self into loving Him and loving others.

No excuses.  No distractions.  No other priorities.  This is what it looks like to flesh out being light in the world, and being the only ‘Jesus’ that some people will ever see.

This is a radical way to live.  It requires conviction, determination, perseverance and devotion.  It binds us to Christ, as we need Him to fill us with His Spirit so that we can live according to His will, and discern what is pure and best in our lives.  It commits us to living our lives in surrender; to submitting our agendas and desires to the higher agenda and desire of the Creator God.  It enslaves us to a duty to our fellow men.  It is a calling to servanthood, to being used by God in other people’s lives however He sees fit, regardless of the personal cost to us.

It means going to bed bone tired.  It means being zapped of energy and strength at times.  It means being exhausted spiritually and emotionally some days.  At the mercy of God’s call for our service.  However He wants to use us in other people’s lives, we willingly submit and comply, because we trust Him.

When should we share our lives?  Whenever God asks us to.  We should share soon and often.  We should be always ready to give the reason for the Hope that we have.  We should be always ready with a word of encouragement in this dark world.  We should be ready with the Scripture and Truth that God gave us in the morning, that we can share it with someone who needs it and crosses our path that day.  We should be ready to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit if He asks us to share our story, our money, or our time.  We need to be walking in sinc with Him in order to know if it is HIS VOICE that is prompting us to share.  We will know.  Because we know Him, and we know by His word exactly what He will require of us.  He wants our hearts.  He wants us to know and obey his commands.  He wants us to be his hands and feet in this world, and He will use us whenever we are willing!

Are we willing to participate with God in what He wants to accomplish on this earth, that His Kingdom may come, and His will be done?

What do we do if we are not sure if we should share?  We need to seek God on that question.  We must ask Him how He wants us to relate to others and be involved in their lives.  Does He want us to share our story?  Does He want to use my story to help someone else in their spiritual journey?  Often He does want us to share our stories, because they are testimonies of His grace and goodness, and His faithfulness even through the darkest nights.  If sharing our story will bring Him glory, then you bet He wants us to share.

But it is risky.  Often we don’t know how people will respond.  We may experience rejection or hurt.  We may suffer loss in a friendship or relationship.  We may be misunderstood.  But if we are walking with the Lord, we can trust that He has a plan for our pain.  That the sharing that He asked us to do will not go unseen or unheard.  He will use it as a seed that He will water in another person’s life.  And we have to entrust that process to Him.  We can plant and we can water, but only God can make someone grow!

On another note, we must be secure in our faith and identity in Jesus Christ, before we can confidently share our stories.  We need to know, beyond a doubt, that we are loved by God, and that we will be loved by Him whether we are loved and accepted by others or not.  When we have this assurance of His love, and we can step out to share our stories with courage, then there is no limit to what God can do through us, by the power of His Holy Spirit in us!

¹ My Utmost for His Highest, September 7