I have new neighbours and am making new friends. To be silent is to deny Christ I know, but how do I witness? It is no good bringing God into the conversation accidentally; it has to be the work of God Himself. I wear a small cross but then so do many people, Christian and non-Christian. At my age I haven’t a tattoo, proclaiming ‘God is Love.’ But I thank Him that i have found another opportunity.
This doesn’t apply so much to older people but youngsters are littering their conversation with blasphemous words. – ‘Oh my God,’ ‘Jesus Christ,’ or even words which I dare not print here. Without giving offence, I challenge the speaker by saying, ‘How did Jesus Christ get into the conversation?’ At the very least it might make people stop and think. (One failure was when I got the reply, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know.) At the very best I have the opportunity to explain the difference Jesus Christ has made in my life.
With older people ‘friendship evangelism’ seems to be the best approach, but it is a long job. Many have been to Sunday School when they were young and I share with them the book I have written about a Church of England hymn writer. Jesus never said it would be easy!