Nearly 11 years ago I went to Soul Survivor with my future husband and his youth group. It struck me then how lucky I was that my boyfriend was a Christian, and I’m often glad that I’m married to a Christian. I love that I get to share my faith with him. I’m also lucky that I’ve got a wonderful group of friends who know this same God, and that we can share our faith together.
Of course, I’ve also got friends and family members who aren’t Christians. I wonder sometimes if there is a perception that Christians are always out to convert our non-Christian friends and family. Are we looking for ways to sneak God into the conversation, or to argue friends into believing in Him? And is our faith something that is interesting to others, or would they rather we kept it tucked away and hidden – a little hobby we don’t talk about.
Well, from my own point of view, I’d love it if more of my friends and family members believed in God. But possibly not for the reasons you’d think. It’s not that I’m looking to add you to a list of converts, or to “save” you. I’m not looking to grow God’s disciples (don’t get me wrong, I’d love to do that, but if I’m really honest, it isn’t what motivates me). Instead, I have a few other reasons why I’d love you to know God, and some of them are perhaps a little selfish.
Firstly, however, I would love you to have a relationship with God because it’s awesome! Genuinely, I don’t know anyone I can’t picture loving getting to know God. Imagine having a friend who will always listen to you, who can help you solve your problems, who can offer a shoulder to cry on and a sensible word of advice. A friend who will be honest with you (sometimes brutally) but also gentle. A friend who will be with you whenever you want them. And best of all, a friend who can do anything! God will always be there for you, has the best stories, and can work miracles. Friends don’t come much better than that.
Secondly, and this is a big one for me, it’s because I want to talk to you about it. Not to convert you, or get you thinking about it, but because it’s a huge part of my life and I want to share it. My husband and I love watching Formula 1, and we’ve got a few friends who love it too. We really enjoy being able to talk to them about it and have them know what we’re talking about, and we love that they get equally as excited about it. The same is true of my faith. I want to be able to share it with you. I want to be able to say, “guess what God said to me yesterday” or “what do you think it means when Jesus says…” or “this came up in my Bible reading – it’s really challenged me and I don’t have a clue what to do next!!”. I want to natter about it, discuss it, puzzle over it and revel in it. I want to chat to you about God in the same way that we chat about our jobs, families, friends, our mutual love of wine and chocolate, or just about anything else.
I also want you to know God because sometimes I need a little help. Sometimes I find it hard to read my Bible, or to make time to pray. Sometimes I feel like God is a little bit hard to find (usually because I’m facing the wrong way). It’s at times like that when I need a boost and a friend to point me in the right direction. I’d love to get that help from you, and to offer it as well.
And lastly, and this one is definitely a selfish one, at least in part, it’s because I want your prayer. There are so many moments in all our lives when we have a desperate need that we just can’t do anything about. Except that we can pray. It is an honour and a privilege to pray for my friends and family, and I am so very lucky to have people who feel the same about praying for me. I’m not ashamed to admit that I often ask for prayer for issues, big or small. And while getting a response from God is the most amazing feeling, it’s also wonderful just to be able to share my prayer requests with friends and to know that they are helping me deal with whatever is going on.
So, I’d love for you to know God, and I’d love to talk to you more about my relationship with Him. But a lot of the time, I’d simply love to be sharing that relationship with you. It’s not about conversion or being saved. It’s about fellowship, and getting to have a really good chat about my world.