How to Live Boldly for Christ

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media]

In Christianity, phrases like "Live boldly for Christ" are fairly commonplace. Yet I've never really seen a definition of what "bold" means when it's used that way. Does it mean selling all my stuff so I can give away all my money? Does it mean moving to Kenya to become a full-time missionary? Does it mean going to seminary and becoming a pastor?

If I don't do any of these things, am I a failure at living boldly?

Most of the time, we equate bold with BIG. What counts is the action, the big, dramatic things that make people take note.

Photo Credit: Flickr User Irwin Scott, Creative Commons

In 1 Samuel 13 and 14, we see the contrasting stories of Saul and Jonathan. Both act boldly, but in different ways and with different outcomes.

King Saul’s bold move was to offer a burnt offering. He was getting antsy waiting around for Samuel to show up to offer the burnt offering, so Saul went and did it himself—his rationale being that he wanted to seek the Lord’s favor before battle. Overall, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal, except he had been explicitly told not to. Instead of waiting patiently for Samuel to show up, Saul let his own misgivings drive his behavior. And, when we look closer at Saul’s motivation, we see fear and doubt that God could and would do what he said he would.

Jonathan’s bold move was to seek out what God would do. He took his armor bearer with him and headed to a Philistine outpost known to be dangerous, saying, “Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” (I Samuel 14:8) His goal wasn’t to make himself look good (because only he and his armor bearer even knew he was going), but to see what God would do—because Jonathan trusted that God would.

On the outside, King Saul’s action doesn’t seem so bad, and Jonathan’s seems perhaps a little foolish. King Saul was seeking God’s favor, and Jonathan was putting his life and someone else’s in danger.

Except these were merely outward actions. While Saul’s inside motives were not so great, Jonathan’s were—making his actions the ones that were bold in a good, God-honoring way. There are lots of bold actions that are great things to do, but if we’re doing them with the wrong heart attitude, they’re not good things at all. Being bold for Christ isn't so much about the outside as it is the inside.

For some of us, being bold might mean giving away all our money, moving to another country, or becoming a pastor—but for many of us, being bold won’t look like any of those. And if those actions aren’t accompanied by a trusting heart ready to be used by God, they’re empty, not bold at all. On the other hand, actions we consider commonplace or even “small”—showing up to work diligently, being a good neighbor, serving at the church—can be our way of living boldly.

In the end, it’s our hearts that determine whether we’re acting boldly for ourselves or boldly for Christ.

[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]