Am I Willing to Offend?

As I have journeyed through the Christian life, I have been presented with many opportunities to point both believers and nonbelievers toward Christ. However, I think that more often than not, it is just as difficult to proclaim Christ and the way we are called to live to the believer as to the nonbeliever. If I am perfectly honest with myself, I know that in hopes of being an encouragement or even liked, I am unwilling to point out sin in another persons life. I realize that my hesitation is rooted in my fear of man and my unbelief that God will do as He has promised. I was reading in the twelfth Chapter of Luke the other day and it struck me how many times Jesus commanded "do not fear, do not deny, do not be anxious, fear not..." and the list goes on. All of these commands come in a string of teachings which all have the same point: Man can do nothing less than destroy the body, only God can control the fate of mans soul.

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. v. 4-5

And it hit me. What reason is there to fear man? I might be laughed at, made fun of, mocked, ignored, shunned, called judgmental, made to feel uncomfortable, cut off from communication, or even (and face it, no one likes this one) disliked. We all live in a world where we think the approval of man is the be all and end all to who we are. In the same chapter Jesus asks:

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. v.51

I am coming to the conclusion that as believers we are to be constantly holding one another accountable. Pointing one another towards Christ even if it risks offending another believer. We should be willing to be cast aside by someone if it means pointing them towards their eternal good. I know that I avoid these situations because I worry that perhaps I will not know the correct things to say, or maybe it's not my place, but Jesus says:

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God...do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. v.8-9,11b-12

I don't believe these verses apply to the proclamation of the Gospel alone, but rather to all things that are "...good, acceptable, and perfect." (Romans 12:2d) So, I am realizing that perhaps in my unwillingness to interfere with the lives of others, am I not in fact denying who Christ is before man.

So as I move forward with boldness (hopefully) I will cling to this promise of Jesus:
"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (v.32) I pray that the promise of God's kingdom would be enough for me to risk the possibility of be disliked. And I realize this means a willingness to accept others views on my actions as well. May we all be humble enough to grow in Christ.