The Fear of Rejection!

I remember when I was in elementary school and we would play kickball or football every day at recess! There were times when we would have two team captains who would pick teams. I have never been the most athletic person. Even to this day, I have to practice and work very hard just to be decent at any sport. Many times I would be the last one picked, or at least be one of the last one’s picked. I never will forget the rejection that I felt in those moments.

Many of us have faced rejection in some way throughout our lives whether it is a breakup, the loss of a job, or the end of a friendship! Many have even faced being rejected by a parent or a spouse. No matter where the rejection comes from, we all probably agree that it can be a painful experience to endure. The fear of rejection can have a huge effect on how we interact with people and the decisions that we make. I strongly believe that this is one of the main reasons why we as Christians don’t share our faith the way that we should.

Studies show that about ninety-five percent of people who claim to be Christians admit that they have never shared their faith with anybody at all. That is startling considering that we claim to have the greatest gift anyone could ever have. How is it possible that a person could experience the saving power of Jesus Christ and never share it with others? There are of course many who claim to be Christians who are not! Obviously many are not going to share a faith that they don’t have in the first place. I do believe however that there are genuine followers of Jesus who do not share their faith due to this thing called fear of rejection. I know this is something that I battle with every time I share my faith with someone. For those of you who struggle with this, I have good news for you and me! In fact I will let Jesus Himself do the talking!

"He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." Luke 10:16

Wow, is this saying what I think it is saying? If we tell someone about Jesus and they reject the message, they are not ultimately rejecting us, but are rejecting God! So we don’t have to worry about how they respond as long as we are faithfully presenting the gospel truthfully, lovingly and clearly! This doesn’t mean that when a person rejects Jesus that it will not still hurt. However, we must understand that we are just the messengers. We have to remember that it is not our job to save anybody. We are actually incapable of doing so! Only the power of the Holy Spirit can truly transform a person’s heart! (1 Corinthians 12:3) As long as we are obedient to opportunities that open up to share our faith, God is honored and we win no matter what the response is. Even through the rejection, a seed is planted and the name of Jesus is magnified.

So what does this mean? 

Share Jesus with everybody! Share boldly, lovingly, humbly, loudly, and leave the results up to God! It’s time to get with the program Christians! People are dying and going to hell while we stand by and keep silent because of self-esteem issues! I don’t know about you all but I refuse to allow this fear rejection to be my excuse any longer! We have the power of the God of the universe at work within us! Let’s do this!!!!

In Christ

Trey Bradley