Brotherly love and/or shove

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

      Isn't that what it seems like many times when you talk with people about any controversial topic? It's particularly true when it comes to spiritual conversations, as the verses indicate. And of course, there is a spiritual reason for this. As 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the glory of the Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God." As Ephesians 6 makes clear, our struggle is not against flesh and blood- it's against the spiritual powers of darkness in the heavenly realms! There is a real, unseen battle going on for the hearts and souls of people. While The Lord Jesus desires to bring all to salvation, offered to us through His death and Resurrection, the devil still wages war, seeking any whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
       And as Jesus Himself told us, people are going to hate us because of His Name. So we know that we can expect many to reject us and our message of hope and salvation in Jesus. John 3:16-21 talks about this phenomenon as well. Even though God loves the whole world and has offered us free salvation- it's there for whosoever will take Him up on it- many in the world still reject Him and His offer because to partake of His offer would mean they would have to fully admit what they are in His sight and reveal their deeds. The truth is- like it or not- we're all sinners and we all have done wrong, do wrong and without the grace of God working in us- will keep doing wrong. And to come to the Light of Christ means we have to bring all our ugly, dark deeds into light. And Jesus said that many refuse the Light because it exposes their deeds and they know their deeds are evil and thus don't want to reveal that about themselves. But that's the whole point of Christianity- admitting that we are poor in spirit ragamuffins who can't help ourselves and desperately need God's grace and mercy. And instead of beating ourselves up about it, God decided to beat Himself up about it- Jesus was beaten and whipped for us- and by His stripes we are healed. And when we're honest enough to admit our need and accept the only cure for our disease of sin- the Truth sets us free indeed. :-)
      So what do we do as followers of Christ when people tell us that we're shoving our religion and Bible down their throats? That's an interesting phrase to me. How does one measure when the conversation has shifted from friendly and informational to the forcible entry of Scripture and doctrinal teachings down another's oral orifices? What's the difference between "shoving down the throat" and simply relaying information? Surely people need to hear the Truth- as it is, their throat is an open grave! (Romans 3:12-14). And ultimately, we just pray "the high praises of God be in their throats" (Psalms 149:6). I think the answer to those questions is found in one word- love.
As 1 Corinthians 13 describes for us, love is patient and kind. Love does not envy, does not boast and is not proud. Love is not rude, self-seeking or easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. And as Ephesians 4:15 tells us, we must always be "speaking the truth in love".
      1 Peter 3:15 tells us to set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts and always be ready to share the reason for the Hope that we have- but do this with gentleness and respect. Love must always be our motivation in sharing anything- love for God and love for the people He's made. And it's that love for Christ and the people He's made, all of whom He loves and desires to be with Him in Heaven (2 Peter 3:9), that compels us to share The Gospel in gentleness and respect with all whom God gives us opportunity to speak with. (And of course, it's Christ's command to preach The Gospel in all the world that also drives us. [Matthew 28:18-20].) But witnessing is simply testifying to what Jesus has done in our lives. It's testifying to what He has done for us all on the cross, how we personally came to believe in Him and receive Him and follow Him as Lord and Savior- and how He's been working in our lives since. And we leave the results to The Holy Spirit. No one has ever been argued or insulted into Heaven and no one ever will be. Don't look to your great oratory skills and don't worry about your lack thereof- look to God The Holy Ghost and pray and trust Him to work. And speak the Truth in Love wherever God gives you opportunity.
       It's important to note too that no matter what the outcome of the conversation is (and remember that that outcome is up to God alone), the relationship still stays on a good level, hopefully. I always look to praise the things someone else holds to and believes that are truly praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8) and agree with them on the things I can Scripturally agree on first. Then from there, I have to respectfully agree to disagree and leave it at that. We have to agree to disagree agreeably. ;-) And in the end, I'm still on good terms with the person and still consider them a friend and still love them with the love of Christ, whatever they decide at that moment. (After all, God always loves everyone no matter what they choose about Him.) And we must love everyone too just as God has loved us. (John 15:12)
       And what do we do indeed when someone has determined that our heartfelt and impassioned spiritual conversation with them, motivated by love for God and them which continues no matter the outcome, has moved beyond the realm of sharing information and is now shoving Jesus and/or The Bible down their throat? (And remember, that while I'm poking a little fun at our inability as a society as a whole to tolerate opinions and values different from our own- and that goes for Christians as well [If you want people to be willing to listen to your point of view, you must be willing to listen to theirs as well. From there, apply 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearance of evil."]- I don't mean to belittle people's feelings in saying this. But it is important to remember that this phrase can genuinely be accurate when we refuse to listen to people who plainly tell us that they are not interested in a spiritual conversation and when we as Christians put them in an uncomfortable spot [like the infamous bait-and-switch deal where we invite non-believer friends to a church sponsored event of some sort- dinner, sports tournament, movie, etc.- while neglecting to tell them that there will also be a Gospel presentation]. I know that we see the urgency and need to get people introduced to Jesus as soon as possible with all of eternity at stake (2 Corinthians 6:2, Revelation 20:15), but even so- we must see their point of view and remember that Jesus also commanded us to do unto others as we would have done unto us. (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31). So we need to be honest with people and let them know all that is involved when inviting them to evangelistic outreach events. And ultimately, we keep persevering and reaching out to others in love with the love of Christ. And we keep being their friend no matter what their response is- and thereby prove to them that they are more than just a project or point on our Heavenly crown- but rather a person made in the image of God whom He loves dearly and we are commanded to do the same.
       "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." (1 Timothy 4:5) Keep fighting the good fight, running the race and keeping the faith. (1 Timothy 4:7)