Every year in April is “Pay it Forward” Day. This year it is Friday, April 28. It is estimated that 10 million acts of kindness will be made on that day. It is a day to give to someone else because you have received.
Pay it Forward at Cracker Barrel. After finding a $20 bill in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel, 8 year old Myles Eckert did what few kids his age or even adults much older than him would do. He gave it to another customer he spotted – a soldier, Lt. Col. Frank Dailey, with this note: “Dear Soldier – my dad was a soldier. He’s in heaven now. I found this $20 in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It’s your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid.” That story went viral. After an appearance on Ellen, Dr. Phil, and a visit with former President George W. Bush, his family started a non profit organization, The Power of 20, to give to families in need. That original $20 has raised $2 million.
Pay it Forward at Starbucks. Some will pay for the Starbucks of the customer behind them. What a surprise find someone paid for your drink. Well, in 2014 at 7am one woman drove up to a Starbucks drive-thru in St. Petersburg, Florida, paid for her own iced coffee and asked to pay for a caramel macchiato for the driver behind her. She did the same for the next customer. By 1:30pm, 260 people had received a free cup of coffee and paid for the next one for a stranger behind them. The barista explained that the drink had already been paid for and asked if they’d like to return the favor. In total, 378 people agreed to keep it going. But at 6pm, the 379th customer ended the chain by ordering a coffee and declined to pay for the next one.
‘Pay it Forward’ is the concept behind ‘Sharing your faith.’ This was the attitude of the Apostle Paul. He was a persecutor of Christians. But Jesus lovingly stopped Him, saved his soul, and changed his life. He felt obligated to tell everyone. He went from city to city to tell people about Jesus. We find three secret to his success so you can share your faith.
“And (pray) for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:19-20).
Secret #1 – Prayer is the key that unlocks every door.
Paul asked people to pray for him. As he went to various locations that needed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he knew that prayer would open doors and give him boldness. It was personal. Are there people you need to pray for? Pray for missionaries. Pray for pastors. Pray for yourself. Pray for the nonChristians in your life.
Paul asked for boldness. I don’t think of Paul as someone who was timid. But even Paul had times when he needed to be bold. No one has all the tools to share their faith. As you consider sharing your faith with others, whatever seems to be your excuse, pray about it. It may even be that God will use your weakness, to reach your friends.
Secret #2 – Be brave enough to start a conversation that really matters.
This is a strange wording, “… that utterance may be given unto me…” The literal reading of the Greek is ‘that to me may be given speech in opening of the mouth.’ Paul wanted to just open his mouth and say the words. Sharing your faith starts with opening your mouth. Just talk and see what happens.
But it does take boldness. Let’s not sugar-coat this by saying it’s easy. It is not. Otherwise, everybody would be doing it.
Did you know that 82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to come to church if invited. That’s a lot of people who might go to church to hear about Jesus. But only 2% of church members invite an unchurched person to church. I hope you will speak up for Jesus.
But you might not know what to say? That’s okay. Share what you know about the Gospel. Paul calls it a mystery. A mystery is something that is not known to one person, but is known by another person. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and provide a place in Heaven. We need to share that with others.
Secret #3 – Live in such a way that those who know you but don’t know God will come to know God because they know you.
Paul reminds us that he is an ambassador. An ambassador is someone who lives in another country, but represents their home country. We are ambassadors. We represent Jesus in our world. It is important that we live well.
But Paul was in chains (bonds). He often was arrested and had many difficulties. He suffered much because of following Jesus. Sometimes God allows us to have difficulties to highlight the internal character of our faith. It’s easier to be Christian when life is good. So we sometimes go through bad so others can see that Jesus will give you what it takes in good and bad.
You can share your faith. Pray, open your mouth, and share with others what God has done for you.
You can some of my similar articles: Walk vs. Talk, 3 things I learned about evangelism from a sales pitch, Salt & Light, The Miraculous Chile Miners Rescue.