TIPS ON SHARING YOUR FAITH: Unintentional Examples

August 30, 2009

We’ve been talking about how to share your faith with others.

Daniel is a wonderful example of what we’re going to be talking about today.

He’s been minding his business, helping the Persian King Darius. Daniel’s enemies get the king to sign a law that for thirty days no one is to pray to anyone except the king. Of course Daniel can’t obey this; he is faithful to God, and is caught praying to God. He’s put in jail and ordered to be thrown to the lions, much to the displeasure of the king.

Here’s where the passage picks up today.

Daniel 6:16-23,25-27

Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!" A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?" Daniel then said to the king, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong." Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God…

Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: "May you have abundant prosperity! I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end. He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; for he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."

NRSV

Hear what happened?

Daniel was simply being true to his faith. He prayed, even though it was against the law. When he was caught, he didn’t apologize or try to weasel out of the consequences. He accepted the punishment. When God came through, then THAT converted the king. It wasn’t anything Daniel said—it was what he did, and what God did through him, that changed the king’s heart.

In the contest of words and actions, actions win every time.

A while back, a pro golfer named Rory Sabbatini said that, in his opinion, “Tiger Woods is more beatable than ever.” That was a rather silly thing to say—it’s like tossing a ball underhand to Albert Pujols saying, “Bet you can’t hit this!” Shortly after his remarks, Rory and Tiger were paired up against each other in the championship round of a tournament. Tiger dismantled him. Afterwards another pro golfer commented, “Tiger is a man of action. Rory is a man of words…Rory lets his mouth move before his golf club.” [Golf Digest, 9/07, p. 126]

We who believe in God and trust Jesus are often guilty of the same thing.

We can say we love Jesus. We can sing hymns and pray loudly. But ultimately, THE best way to share our faith is through putting that faith into practice, regardless of the sacrifice or the consequences. You do that, and you don’t need to explain yourself.

Daniel did it in the lion’s den.

Where will you or I be an example of faith in such a way that it will get people’s attention? Where will be your lion’s den? Where will be the arena where you will demonstrate your faith?

How about at…HOME

You don’t know who this man is. Many of you, though, have benefited from him.

He’s a surgeon named Michael Debakey. He did incredible things. He’s credited with developing the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, or MASH units, which saved thousands of lives from the Korean War onward. He pioneered the development of specialized medical centers for treating returning military personnel, and that system subsequently became the Veterans Administration Medical Center System. He invented the pump for blood transfusions that made open heart surgery possible, and he was part of the team that performed the first successful bypass operation.

He knew as a child that he wanted to become a surgeon. It was because he watched his mother.

His mom was a gifted seamstress. She made clothing for the family, and he was fascinated at how she could handle a Singer sewing machine. So, as a preschooler, he asked his mom to teach him to sew—something boys don’t usually asked. But she taught him, and he became quite good at it.

She also taught him something else. If she was great at sewing, she was even better at compassion.  Every Sunday she and Debakey’s father loaded the family car with extra clothing and homemade meals for the children at the local orphanage. One week, Debakey noticed that his favorite cap was among the giveaway items. When he protested, his mother reminded him that he would get a new cap, but that orphans had no parents to buy them caps. Then she added something Debakey says he has never forgotten: “There’s nothing that can warm your heart more than making someone else feel better.”

Debakey says that his mother’s words and example played a role in his choice of professions. He was drawn to medicine because that field allowed him to improve and even prolong the lives of others. He chose surgery because it enabled him to put to use the manual dexterity he had developed in his mother’s sewing room. Debakey says, “Learning to sew as a child isn’t a prerequisite for becoming a good surgeon, but caring about people certainly is. I’m convinced I would not have grown up to be the physician I am today had I not received my mother’s lessons and taken to heart her most poignant message — that making people feel better is the highest calling of all.”

If you’re a mother or father, son or daughter, or some other relative: how can you be an example of your faith at home?

Where else might you find a lion’s den?

How about at…CHURCH

Vicki McGaw is the director of Christian Education at a church in Cleveland. In a small group meeting at church one day, she heard a woman talk about her husband’s critical health situation. He desperately needed a kidney transplant, and would die if he didn’t receive one.

Tears came to Vicki’s eyes, and she heard herself asking the woman, “What do I need to do to be tested?” She had a clear sense that this was the right thing for her to do. Even though she’d never met this woman’s husband before, she made the decision right then to donate one of her kidneys to him.

She was tested for compatibility, and ended up being more of a perfect match than any of the man’s family members. The surgery took five hours, and was a complete success. Vicki returned home in two days, and resumed her job in five.

The following Sunday, her pastor told the congregation about Vicki’s generosity. It had a tremendous impact. The pastor said, “I’ve witnessed something unexpected. People are asking, where is God in their lives? They know it was no coincidence Vicki was a match for Bob and the generosity and compassion she displayed were extraordinary. They know God was involved.”

Vicki McGaw is an example of someone choosing faith over fear, someone demonstrating self-lessness instead of self-concern. She said, “A person can find 20 million reasons not to do something, but there is usually one reason that sticks with you as to why you should.”

How can you or I, in a great or small way, also choose faith over fear, right now, right here?

Where else might you find a lion’s den opportunity?

How about at…SCHOOL

I will always remember the first day of school for each of our children. I remember wanting to get on the bus with them—sit beside them, hover over them, protect them. You parents, you know what I’m talking about.

I hear that it’s even worse when your child goes off to college.

Susi Lockard was a protective mom. She prayed for her son throughout his young life. She especially prayed for him as he went off to college. On his first trip home, she wanted to hear all about his experiences. She asked about his roommate.

“He’s a recovering drug addict. He was sent here for a year of rehabilitation. He’s studying art…and trying to reenter normal life.”

Well, this did wonders for the mother’s nerves. She couldn’t contain herself. “I don't understand. I have prayed for 18 years for you to have a good roommate who would have a good influence in your life.”

Her son responded, “Maybe his mother was praying the same prayer.” Susie reflected on that marvelous response.

God answers our prayers from wisdom greater than ours. I thought that my son needed a strong Christian friend; God knew that my son needed to be a strong Christian friend.

--Upper Room, 5/7/08

I understand how school can certainly feel like a scary lion’s den. Peer pressure. Academic pressure. Alcohol and drugs. Sex. Abuse. Well, maybe the scarier the lion’s den, the stronger the witness?

How can you be an example of your faith, that will get people’s attention?

Where’s your lion’s den? Maybe the…STREETCORNER

In China, sharing your faith is not exactly encouraged, if you know what I mean.

But that didn’t stop the Christians in Luoyang. In eighteen places around that city, they set up tables and offered passersby free tea. They didn’t preach, they didn’t hand out tracts, nothing like that. They simply gave away cup after cup, with a smile and perhaps a “God bless you” or a “Jesus loves you.” The most popular place they set up their free tea station was in a park, during a flower festival. Thousands passed by that table daily, from early morning to late at night, for two weeks.

People were amazed, couldn’t believe, that these people were handing out free tea—that would be like handing out free Starbucks over here. It caught their attention, and made them wonder. The flower festival had a book where visitors could make comments. One person commented about these free-tea-Christian folks:

"Where does your love come from? If it comes from God, then I can believe in Him."

Another wrote, "If believing in Jesus inspires you to do this, then I want to know how to believe."

A third man said that at first he thought these Christians were crazy, but then realized they were thinking of others, not themselves; their generosity inspired him to attend church that week.

An official in the park said that the kindness of the Christians had “captured the people’s hearts.”

--Sarah Smith, "Free cups of tea open doors for Chinese Christians to share God's kindness," East Gates Ministries International, cited on www.ServantEvangelism.com

These Chinese Christians didn’t preach. They simply offered a gift in the name of Jesus. And that act opened the door for people to go through and meet him.

There are a lot of ways “out there” for you to offer a public, visible act of kindness. A group from this church is collecting food from homes in the neighborhood in a couple of weeks. There’s another group that serves a homeless food center. There are all sorts of ways you can set up shop and offer a cup of kindness, aren’t there?

How can you be an example of your faith, that will get people’s attention?

How about…well, why don’t you come up with an answer this very week?

And when you do, you’ll not only discover the change in others. You’ll discover something happening in yourself.

Some of you sports fans might know Rick Majerus, the head coach of the men’s basketball team at SLU, a Catholic institution. A while back, Archbishop Burke stated that Coach Majerus should be disciplined; he should be refused communion because of his public statements regarding his views on pro-life and stem-cell research.

Bernie Miklasz, the sports writer for the Post Dispatch, asked the coach what he was going to do. Majerus said he wouldn’t stop speaking out for what he thought was right. He told Miklasz a story that summed up his philosophy. One night he was protesting the death penalty—holding up an anti-death penalty sign outside an Illinois prison. A prison guard came up and offered some friendly advice: “Coach, stop it, because you can’t change the world.” Without missing a beat, Majerus replied, “You’re right, buddy. But I won't let the world change me.”

--Post Dispatch, 1/24/08

“I won’t let the world change me.”

It must feel good to look at yourself in the mirror and be able to say that, don’t you think?