I always struggle with what is "active enough" or "too passive" as a Christian. In my life right now, my main contact with people is either at work, at church, or here on CC, and the chances I have to disagree with unbelievers/"witness"/"actively be a Christian" are mostly at work and sometimes on CC.
My own personal way of witnessing has always been to get to know people and invite them to church. I have a small circle of co-workers I've been asking for a year now, even offering to pick them up or meet them at a church they are interested in attending (not necessarily mine) but so far, there have been no takers. When co-workers open up about a problem, I ask if I can put my their names in my church's prayer box. And when I heard about certain rulings in the Supreme court, I spent the afternoon just telling God, "God, I'm sorry. This country has 'In God We Trust' on our money, but the reality is, we don't follow you at all do we? We were founded on an original belief in You, and I'm sorry we've strayed so far."
I just felt a huge need to tell Him we're sorry for all that's happening.
This is all I know to do in living my faith right now. Is it "enough"? Is it "active" enough? I actually ponder that all the time. Should I be confronting all the people around me (many of them publicly declaring to be Christians) who are living with a significant other? Yesterday I was thinking of some young people from my old church who have dedicated their lives to living off the donations of others and caring for orphans in war-torn countries. Compared to them, I look like a pacifist heathen.
But someone has to go to work everyday to earn the money to donate to people who choose to live like this. And none of this is pat myself on the back, for sure, but rather, to point out my own shortcomings. However, we all play different parts in the body of Christ.
I often feel very small and insignificant among the sea of believers because I don't have outstanding Evangelistic skills with which to dazzle the public. I'm not a successful business person who can dedicate a building or a church. But I am one person, and when I read about the everyday things other Christians do here: selling at the market (maybe they offered a kind word to someone who needed it), raising their kids (and opening their home to other kids who may not have a loving home life), being real about their struggles (which others can relate to), and offering rides to work... etc. etc. etc.
I start to see a bigger picture of how one person... here, there, and all around the world... really can hold up a light for Christ. I might be carrying a tealight compared to another person's flamethrower, but I know that for me, the CC community gives me hope, and many examples of how I can live out my faith just a little better every day.
