As we celebrate the joy of Easter we are reminded that Christianity is about faith, our faith in the risen Lord. How effective are we in sharing our faith with those around us? Each of us has a personal story of how we came to Christ. Are we aware of the faith journey of other people?
The Easter faith is to be shared with those around us. God makes ‘his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4.6). God enables us to recognize that Jesus is God. He makes it possible by his Holy Spirit for a person to see who Jesus is. When Paul is on the Damascus road, he asks “who are you, Lord?” and is told “I am Jesus” (Acts 9.5). This is the moment of Paul’s conversion when he recognizes for the first time who Jesus is.
People need to hear the Gospel to be able to respond to God’s invitation to enable his light to shine in our hearts. There are many things in this word which blind us to faith. We can chase after the things of the word which are passing away, such as material possessions. They can take the place of God for many people. ‘The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers’ (2 Corinthians 4.4). The eternal is completely obscured by the here and now.
Easter is the time to draw people to Jesus to encourage as many as possible to make a decision to follow him. We are all called to share our faith and bring others to faith.