Treason and the Traitor - Epilogue

Treason and the Traitor is more than just a short story, it is a metaphorical telling of my own testimony. Many of the greatest testimonies in the Bible and historically are built around personal tragedy, and a great percentage of those due to our own choices. Consider Paul or David for example. For those of us that have a shameful past, it's hard to share the details of our testimony. Let's face it, the antagonist is someone that we hate, but that person is who we once were.

When the telling of our testimony requires us to remember the things we hate about our former selves and we have not gained the confidence from sharing openly with tons of people, it's terrifying. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the work that Christ has done in my life and I want everyone to know His love, pursuit, and faithfulness! There's still fear there though, fear of being seen as who you once were but no longer are. There is a real fear that we are not worthy of being loved and accepted once people discover what we are scared to reveal.

With time, it does get better. As God offers opportunities to share, your confidence in His ability to use that story to reach someone grows. People that have experienced their own tragedy are easy to tell it to because they have felt the redeeming love of Christ and they tend to be genuinely excited for you to be experiencing that love as well. It's similar with those that willingly gave control of their lives up and know that change is real. The scary ones are those that don't believe real change can happen because they haven't experienced it and can't see it. We're fearful of being not only rejected, but condemned by them.

Personally, I wish I had the courage to share my testimony with everyone, having no fear of rejection and knowing that my value is in Christ. Even though I realize that the telling of that story reduces my significance and brings glory to the One responsible for my salvation, the reality is that I am still untrusting in many ways.

So I tell you all this to make this point - it is worth the time to get to know those people that you know have a past they aren't telling you about but obviously love Christ with their lives. It takes time to build the trust necessary to get inside those barriers, but remind them that you love them for who they are, aren't rejecting them for the old self that was tossed aside, and that you are excited to learn what Christ has done in their lives. Then watch them open up. They (and I) will gain the confidence to share more and more. You'll get to hear a modern day story that proves Christ is still winning souls and is alive and well. Because of your willingness to love on someone that is scared, you'll empower them to continue spreading the good news. Even though the story isn't your own, your simple act of love will be responsible for reaching people that would not have heard it otherwise.

One last thing, if this is the first post you're reading, please go back and read parts I and II.