Graciously tell others about what you have personally seen

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1-1-4 NIV)

Proclaim what “you have seen and heard”

At the conclusion of a recent business trip, I was picked up by an Uber driver to take me to the airport. As I usually do, I asked him a few personal questions to be friendly and to know a little about who was driving me. His name is Felix; he is 47, had moved here from the Dominican Republic, and loves it here. He then asked me what I was visiting his city for. I told him I was there in a chaplain capacity for an automotive recycling association to facilitate morning prayer meetings and speak to the attendees about Jesus Christ. I told him how Jesus had changed my life many years before when I had found a little booklet that explained the gospel message. I told him what I had learned for the first time from that booklet: that all have sinned and are lost (John 3:23); that Christ died to pay for our sins (Rom. 6:23); that we must turn from our sins (Acts 3:19); and we must receive Him personally in prayer (John 1:12). I told him that I had prayed to invite Christ into my life while driving. And my life was instantly turned around. He thanked me for sharing my story with him and said he was looking for help, too, but didn’t know how to find it. I told him that Jesus is the answer, easily found, and asked if he’d like me to pray with him to receive Christ. He said "yes,” and we prayed together just before we arrived to the airport. He was filled with joy, and so was I. I asked him for his address and promised to send him a Bible (the next day I did). This entire conversation was friendly, natural, and only took a few minutes. But it changed Felix's life. 

Sharing your personal experience

In the Bible passage at the top, the author says, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard.” They tell of their personal experience concerning what they “have seen with their own eyes and what they have personally touched with their own hands." This approach to sharing one's faith is amazingly effective because it is difficult to argue against someone’s personal experience. In fact, the most powerful witness tool you have as a Christian is your own personal testimony accompanied with God’s Word, as they say above, “concerning the Word of life.” 

Therefore

·      Be prepared to gently and respectively give an answer

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15b NIV)

·      Graciously make the most of opportunities

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:5-6 ESV)