Nabeel Qureshi, a converted Muslim before coming to Christ, said that one of the reasons he struggled to accept Christianity was because, if Christians truly believed in heaven and hell, they must really hate him to not tell him the way of salvation. It may sound like an extreme statement, but if we do believe the word of God in Matthew 7:13 that says, “broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it”, then why wouldn’t we tell people?

Why is it that so many who proclaim Christ do not tell others about Him? I suggest to you that there are a number of reasons:

• We don’t really believe it ourselves.
• Perhaps we think that it is not as bad as the scripture says.
• We don’t really care enough for our fellow human beings.
• We are complacent (which is probably the case most times).

Do you recognise yourself in any of the above descriptions? I was horrified to discover that 50 percent of Christians actually believe that it is wrong to share their faith! The ‘live and let live’ attitude (or should I say ‘live and let die’ attitude) of the world has also invaded the church.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Therefore, if we don’t keep His commands, we have to question how much we love Him. He also said that we should love even our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and, in 1 John 4:20 it says, “If anyone says I love God but hates his brother, he is a liar.” Strong words!

Hate is not just an action; in this case, it’s a lack of action.

Nabeel did eventually find his way to God because somebody took the time to demonstrate the love of God to him. Proverbs 27:6 says, “faithful are the wounds of a friend”. Do you love your friends and family and neighbours enough to risk wounding them by telling them about Jesus? Christianity is free, but it comes with a price tag.