smelling

2 Corinthians 2:14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?
17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us.

Lifestyle evangelism is the meat & potatoes of my life right now. I simply live, love those around me & those I meet, & let God bring me into situations where I can share the new life I've found in Him. Paul & the other early Christians did this. It's been done by millions for millennia. It works.

I've experienced people thinking we "smell of death & doom." They couch it differently than that, but some people are repelled by the Holy Spirit reaching out to them.

Speaking of the Holy Spirit, in the last 10 years, I come to take less responsibility for who I make contact with. I used to operate out of guilt in this area. Now I'm trying to operate out of opportunity. Trust me on this though - if you quit trying to "evangelize" & ask Him to bring into your life whoever He wants, you will be inundated with people & opportunity! ;-)

The difference now is that I've relinquished responsibility for what who comes my way, what I say to them, & most importantly, the results of my sharing. I still have to listen hard to the Holy Spirit as far as what to say & how much, but He's responsible for what happens - not me.

This is a significant shift for me. For a long time, I tried to make things happen. I'm simply not adequate for that. He is. My responsibility is over the time I'm exposed to people - be it hours, days, weeks, months, or longer - I'm to be who I am, love them as God loves them, & say what I'm led to - He's in charge of what happens inside of them.

And like Paul, I'm keenly aware that God is watching me - not in a judging way - just watching what I'm doing. The stakes are very high in my life. I'm surrounded by 20somethings with whom I have tremendous influence. It's kinda daunting sometimes. I'm thankful He's watching - He keeps me on course. ;-)

I said all that to say this - I think we need to chill about this "sharing your faith" thing. We should live our lives, love those around us, & share our life with God when given the opportunity - & He'll give each of us PLENTY of opportunity to do this! And leave the results with Him.