Occasionally, I hear someone talk about their faith in terms of it being a private thing – Just between them and God.  Most of the time I hear this (you guessed it), I want to throw up.

Certainly there is a part of your faith that is strictly between you and God.  When God deals with an area of sin in your life, you are not required to share it with anyone.  Sometimes God tells us things that we are supposed to keep to ourselves.  In my walk with God, I have found that these times are rare indeed.  Even more so for some of us preacher people.  I have had to confess things to my church congregation that I would much rather just keep to myself.  Perhaps some of them would rather I just keep it to myself.

Most of the time someone gives me that “it’s personal” line, is because they really have very little, if any, real faith to share with anyone.  That is a true shame, because that is not the way God would have it.  “Our” faith is meant to be shared.  I put the word in quotes because it really is not “our” faith to begin with.  Ephesians 2 tells us the faith we have was given to us by God.  So if it is not “ours” we are not the ones to determine what should be done with it.

God intends for us to share what we have received from Him with others, to give them the same opportunity that we have been given.  After all, did you receive your faith directly from God, or did He use another person (a friend, family member, someone who knocked on your door)?  He still uses this old fashioned idea of one person telling another, who tells another.  It’s the ultimate Telephone Game!

Wanna play?