"Are You Still Going to Church?"

Making the most of every opportunity

Photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash

Years ago, I remember bumping into my cousin who I had not seen for a long time. I was distracted, wrestling with a trolley full of shopping from the supermarket. I wasn’t prepared for an evangelistic moment.

After expressing our surprise at meeting one another after so many years and a quick verbal summary of our various stages of life, he asked me a question; “Are you still going to church?”. Now this caught me off guard, I was not aware he knew I went to church or that I was a committed follower of Jesus Christ. It had been so long since I had seen him I couldn’t remember ever discussing my faith with him or mentioning going to church regularly. I wondered why this question even came to his mind.

We never really know what those around us are noticing about our lives.

I paused for a moment, then without thinking blurted out; “Yes I’m a Christian, I love Jesus!”. I smiled broadly at him and waited for his response. My answer seemed to catch him off guard too, he nodded slightly and smiled back “That’s good… You love Jesus eh?” I could see he was mentally processing what I had said.

My answer was not what he was expecting. It wasn’t what I was expecting either to be honest. Something about his question seemed negative. It was innocent enough on the surface— “Are you still going to church?”, but there was something odd about the question to me. Simply asking someone if they go to church means nothing. People attend church services all their lives and never seek forgiveness for their sins and turn to Christ. Regular attendance in a church building is no indicator of a changed heart.

Answering with “Yes, I’m a Christian and I love Jesus!” personalised the whole discussion. It was no longer about whether I sat in a church building looking pious, but a living vibrant relationship with the One called Saviour and Lord. My commitment was not solely to a religious gathering, but to a person. God in the flesh in Christ. I knew I may have come across as a religious zealot, but I felt inspired in the moment and it felt good to share unabashed love for God.

After we said goodbye, I walked away with a strong sense that the Holy Spirit was working through that encounter in his life. I hoped that some of the holy fire in me had warmed his heart. Why do we often default to toning down our enjoyment of God in the presence of unbelievers? Why shouldn’t our eyes light up and our smile widen when we speak of the things of God?

This got me thinking about how I can share my faith with those around me, in a way that is authentic and reveals more of who God is. We don’t need to have read every Apologetics book covering the pressing issue of the day (although it can be helpful). We don’t need to have memorised the book of Romans or have a one minute gospel presentation perfected. These are tools which are great to have available to us, but we can organically share who God is in everyday conversations with others by drawing on the nature and character of God.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 (CSB)

In conversation with others about the latest scandal in the news, about corruption behind the scenes in politics, or about the evil which is seemingly pervasive in society — we can point to the truth that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. He is the one who brings light and clarity to life. He is the one who will never be corrupted and who has no evil in Him. We can look to Him in the darkness and see light, always.

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“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15 (CSB)

When those around us experience harshness, oppression, hatred, and abandonment we can point to our God who is slow to anger and gracious. We can talk about His faithfulness to us and how it has been revealed in our lives. We can share how Jesus gave an open invitation to all to come to Him for living water, especially those who are weary and heavy laden. We can talk about His desire to give us rest.

There are so many ways we can share the astonishingly beautiful, and humbling nature of our great God with others. Maybe one day their eyes will be opened, they will recognise His kindness, and it will lead them to true repentance.

Let’s pray for boldness and courage to do this well.