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by David
Phelps
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa
May, 1995
In his recent stewardship message, on April 3, Dennis Crone sounded the theme of “doing more.” “I give,” he said, “but I could give more.” “I serve,” he said, “but I could serve more.” It’s the same with us when we share our faith. Recently, I overheard one of my coworkers witnessing to another, talking about forgiveness and salvation, and I was challenged. I wondered how he had managed to raise the subject.When I thought about it, I realized opportunities are all around us: If people around us need prayer, we ought to offer to pray for them. If they need help, we should offer them help, in Christ's name. If they need a church home, we should offer to bring them to ours. If they need Christ, we must offer them Christ. We might already be doing these things but, like me, we can usually do more.
How can we begin to witness? The balloons that decorate our church on Easter Sunday morning can give us a clue: We can’t see the helium in the balloons but we know it’s there because the balloons rise. We can tell what’s inside them by their behavior. In the same way, others can tell what–or who–is inside us by our behavior. There were no helium-filled balloons in Jesus’ time, but if there had been, the Gospels might contain “the parable of the balloons.” Christ has called us to show who is in us by being stewards of our faith, as well as our finances, time or possessions. We can do more. As good stewards, we must do more.
“Let your light so shine before men , that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16 RSV.)