The Challenge Series: Talk About It

Written By: Candace Jeffries

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Colossians 4:2-6

I work in a pharmacy filled with people that are different than me. Last Friday, I was closing with two atheists. There were absolutely NO customers, and God blew the doors open to talk about Jesus.I’ve worked with these two people for quite a while. I absolutely adore them!! They are great people!! I was aware that they didn’t believe the same way I did, but we had never really talked about it openly. My daughter had dropped off a book for me through the drive thru entitled The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. That’s what God used to blow open the doors.As we began our discussion, I think each of us felt pretty uncomfortable, but as we really got into it, and we each saw that no one was going to go postal just because we had different views, we had an amazing conversation. My friends shared with me how “religious people” make them feel, how hypocritical they think “Christians” are, and how they were somewhat envious of the fact that Christians had God to fall back on during hard times…how we could believe that God had a purpose even in the bad times.Some of things they said hurt my soul, but I could also agree with them on many things. I was able to share with them that being a Christ follower wasn’t about following rules and judging those who don’t, as much as it was about the love of God poured into us sinners and us pouring it out on others. For the first time, they got to see the heart of what I believe it means to follow Christ. It means loving people NOT judging people.People who don’t believe in Jesus will never know the love of Jesus if we spend our time judging their every action. They will never know the love of Jesus if we are too scared to hear them out and listen to their concerns and even their complaints. They will never know the love of Jesus if we don’t walk through that door when Jesus opens it. And they will never know the love of Jesus if we simply surround ourselves with like minded people!! Jesus hung out with prostitutes for goodness sake!! How can we afford NOT to do as He did if we truly believe that we are here on earth to be His hands and feet?!?! JUST DO IT!!Challenge:-If you only hang out with people like yourself, find a way to get out of your comfort zone. Go to a shelter. Go to a bar for goodness sake. Find a way to connect with people that are different than you.-If you know people that don’t believe the same way you do, find a way to engage them in conversation this week. Ask them what they honestly think about Jesus and His people.-Most importantly, pray that God will give you an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with someone that doesn’t know Him.Candace Jeffries is a wife of 20 years and a mom of three teenagers. She is a pharmacist in her spare time. Her greatest joy is teaching the word of God and watching women grow in their trust in Him. She has taught women’s Bible study since 2005 and just finished writing her first Bible study.