"And He said to them, 'go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation.'" (Mark 16:15) Jesus has told us to go out into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel; and "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power, love, and discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7) We are called to boldly proclaim the faith and the good news to everyone.
Many people find this to be an annoying factor about Christians, as if we are pushing our religion on others and trying to make them follow our God. This is partially true, I will admit. We are called to push the Gospel, but never to push the Gospel onto someone. We are to promote the Gospel, not force it down people's throats. To try to force someone to follow God is highly disrespectful to God. In this, you are saying that God cannot save a person on His own and you must step in and help.
If you are forcing the faith down someone's throat, you are hurting them far more than helping them. Yes, I know the feeling of fear when you know someone that you love deeply and want them to be saved. The feeling of love and fear makes you want to save them at any cost; but you must remember who the author of salvation is. It is God, not us. We must preach the Gospel and step back, allowing God to work. Pray over them and let God be God. We do not know what God will do in their life and we do not know what will happen of them. I know people of people who have wild testimonies that pulled them out of situations that seemed hopeless. If we claim to be Christians, let us trust in Christ to do as He desires.
1 John 2:4 says, "whoever says 'I know Him' but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." If we say that we know Christ, we must keep his commandments. Acts 4:12 says, "and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved." To force Christianity down someone's throat is to say that you have salvation that Christ does not; and to say that is to not know Christ; and to not know Christ is to not have the truth; and who can be saved without the truth?
So, how do we boldly proclaim without shoving the Gospel down someone's throat? We pray. We pray people into the faith and into God's arms. We share the message with those who are willing to hear it and we respect the wishes of those who are running away. We cannot force someone into God's arms. We must pray to God for the words to say and when to say them; and in the mean time, pray your loved ones and even strangers into salvation. We must trust in God so that He may save people. We cannot rely on our own strength.
It will get rough sometimes. Sometimes you may think that person will never get to know God's love. Sometimes you may think that person is hopeless and will never want God's love. Sometimes you will think that person will never turn to Christ. When things get hard, remember Galatians 6:9. "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Never give up on anyone, just like Christ never gave up on you.
-D
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