Doves On Distant Oaks

To Boldly Go

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone's conversion were like Paul's. To learn about Christ, get baptized, and immediately go and begin preaching the good news of Jesus. That's what made Saul, who we know today as Paul, so special. He had been one of the greatest, if not the single greatest, persecutors of the fledgling Christian faith. It's a miracle in itself that he would be the one to be converted, but to straightaway begin preaching is also a miracle. What made Paul so bold?

Most of the time, we take trembling baby steps when we receive Christ as our savior. We may tell a few people, give our testimony, and then try and spread the good news. However, more often than not our steps are halting and cautionary. We have to test the water first before we dive in. This is not necessarily bad, but it can make us approach others with too much timidity rather than boldness.

Boldness itself is a misunderstood term. Merriam-Webster defines it as fearless before danger, or showing or requiring a fearless daring spirit. I have seen several male friends of mine take that and misrepresent it as loud and forceful. As men, we have a tendency to do that, to make up for our lack of courage, knowledge, or faith with loudness. That is not boldness.

First, one cannot show courage without feeling fear. One cannot be truly bold without having a compassionate spirit. The man, or woman, who has no fear can show no courage, because there is no real fear to be overcome. Only by overcoming our fears, do we become courageous.

God wants us to be courageous, and to be bold, but he does not want fearless, unloving, loud, and pushy evangelists. Boldness, in the biblical sense, is experiencing fear, but then overcoming it through the help of the Holy Spirit. Its loving others so much that we are driven to share our own personal experience regardless of how fearful it seems.

That's what Paul did in his preaching that he was able to do immediately. He approached every situation boldly, not willing to back down, but not wanting to bully people. He argued logically and compassionately about something that was so important to him that he just had to share it.

So for those of us, including myself, that hold back, wait to learn more, or gather our resources, the time is now. Certainy there is more for me to learn about the scriptures before deciding to write a devotional, but why wait? At the risk of quoting pop culture, we need to boldly go where no one has gone before. Where are the Captain Kirk's?

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

–Acts 9:18-20

Keywords: Boldness, Fear

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