I ordered a coffee and then had confusion cloud my brain as I began to doubt if I’d called the cashier by Ma’am or Sir. I called them something but then questioned if it was the correct gender reference. The confusion was not because I’m middle-aged, rather because the cashier was exhibiting traits that appeared to be male and female. I wanted desperately to ask them, out of sincere concern but didn’t want to risk being offensive with my questions.
I received my coffee and went to a table to begin working on bible study homework.
The ladies at the table next to me were having a very lengthy conversation about a nightly escapade with a guy they knew. It was loud. It was lewd. The more I tried to ignore them, the louder they got. I desperately wanted to ask them if they knew they were sharing intimate details in a public setting, but I didn’t want to risk being told off or cursed out.
I closed my study material. I sat back. I prayed silently.
The cashier’s shift was over and they left. The ladies with the wild night antics were done sharing and they left.
I remained.
I asked myself and God why I was so afraid to engage with these two scenarios. Why was I reluctant to have a conversation with individuals? What reservations overrode the need to be bold? What if I had been bold and had used the opportunity to share Christ’s love simply through my words? What if this was the only time those three individuals encountered someone who could share the gospel through action, rather than by being timid or worse browbeating?
I immediately thought of the verse in 2 Corinthians where it states that because we have hope (in Christ), we are bold. I couldn’t remember the context or even the exact verse, so I had to open the Bible and dig in.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold!
~ 2 Corinthians 7-11(NIV)
I want to be bolder in my action. I want to stand firmly for Christ. I pray I’m bold as a lion! Even if it’s simply engaging in a conversation with strangers at a coffee shop.
Ladies, be bold and be brave this week!
~Emily
The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
~Proverbs 28:1(NIV)
Iron Porch 