I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 6

We don’t talk about this verse often but perhaps we should. I was reluctant to pull it out because I know that as a writer and a teacher, I must also be a doer. Unless you’re outspoken and naturally bold, this verse will be one of the hardest things to do. Please notice, however, that the verse does not say that you need to go on a street corner or in a subway platform to proclaim the Gospel (more power to those who can do that) loudly and boldly.

Paul is praying for Philemon to be active in sharing his faith. That’s it. It’s obviously open for interpretation what “active” actually means. Twice a day, twenty times a week? I think if we play the numbers game we’re missing a critical point.

You see, sharing our faith helps us grow. Why? As the rest of the verse states, we are able to get a good handle of the good things we have in Christ. If we don’t know answers to objections, we get to go back and explore to find answers. We hone our theology and our arguments. We get to explore the mystery of Christ more closely.

The only downside to sharing our faith is the fear of rejection that many of us have. Fear and rejection exist. So does God. Now, given those two basic statements, which do you think is more powerful?