Hey there everyone! Okay, so I may not have posted in almost three weeks... #oops. Today's post is actually a very important
topic to me, it's something I've personally struggled through and that I really
want to share with others. I feel like most everybody has a hard time with
being bold. Quite frankly, we don't know how to be "bold"...I feel
like we're taught, somehow, that being bold is a bad thing. I look around and
all I see, from people of all ages, is that we don't stray far from our own little
circles (Some may call them cliques). We don't welcome new people, talk to the
new kids, or do anything away from the friends we're comfortable with. And to
be honest, sometimes it angers me a bit. Especially because I know that I'm one
of them. You see, being bold isn't something to hide or be afraid of! Yes,
sometimes it can create slightly awkward situations (Which everyone seems to
spend their whole lives avoiding at all costs), but in the end, as I like to
say, bold is beautiful.
I'd like to bring up
a piece of scripture that I've kind of based this post off of. Acts 28:31.
(Pictured) We'll start by breaking down what the verse means, and then we will
work on applying it to our lives. Now, I'll
talk more a little bit further down about what boldness looks like in all
aspects of our lives, but more specifically in this verse it talks about
boldness in proclaiming the kingdom of God. What does that mean? It's quite
simple, telling everybody, everywhere, in all ways possible, who God is and
what He's done. But not just that, no, because it goes on to tell us to teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. So, now we see that we aren't just talking about God, but we're teaching of Him too. See the difference? It's like going around all day proclaiming "Jesus is life!", or "God is love!". That's great and all...but people that don't know Jesus won't know what, or who, you're talking about. Unless you actually sit down and teach them about the life that Jesus gave us by bearing the weight of our sins on the cross. Or you actually tell them how unfathomable God's love for us is - that he would send His one and only Son to be crucified so that we could have a relationship with Him. You see the difference now?
But wait, we aren't at the end of the verse yet. It ends on "With all boldness and without hindrance."
Wow. Just take a moment with me and think about "With all boldness." Every ounce of boldness and courage that we have should be put to use. All that we have. So that we would, without a trace of doubt whatsoever, jump on every opportunity with the boldness of a lion (And lions are quite bold if I do say so myself). "And without hindrance" - without any obstacles in our way, and without any doubts or fears. There would be no stopping us, for we are God's children, His chosen people, proclaiming the good news of our Savior without worrying about the things we do now, like "what will people think about me.". We would all be solely concerned with God's commandments, God's purpose, and we'd be driven by the fear of the Lord. Wouldn't that be pretty cool if we were all like that? We're supposed to be. Instead it feels like we all take our faith, we take what Jesus has done, and we go like crawl under a rock or something. We don't show it to anyone, we don't rejoice over this amazing grace that we've been given, no. It's like we just don't care. When we should be living out the opposite! Chew on that for a while.
Okay, you may be wondering, how much "bold" is too bold? Well, your boldness must be driven by the right amount of kindness. Being bold doesn't mean shoving the Gospel down people's throats, no, no. What I mean by it is that, with love, patience, gentleness, and kindness we should share with people the love that God has shown us. Being bold just means that we aren't afraid or ashamed in any way of His word. True boldness in a person is a rare and beautiful find, but it's one that once you share it, it keeps on going like a chain reaction. People follow, you set an example, and that's pretty cool.
"what does boldness look like in an everyday life?"
Boldness in an everyday life, especially that of a student, is when you aren't afraid to venture outside that little circle we talked about earlier and maybe talk to that kid that's sitting in the corner all alone. Invite them to sit with you and get to know them. That's boldness, and kindness, that you just exhibited right there. Being bold in your everyday life can even be speaking up when some kids are talking about, or doing, something that you know is wrong. It takes boldness to speak up and show them God's love. Or maybe you have a friend who's wavering in their faith...a lot of times we just remain quiet because...well, sometimes I don't even know why, but we do. And we shouldn't. Be the friend that helps point them back to the Lord, be the girl (or guy) who is constantly talking about God, be the one who isn't afraid of what people think of you, be courageous, be kind, be bold. Bold is beautiful, my friends.
