Your faith in action

I have mentioned to you before, my liking of the Duck Dynasty program on TV.  You probably have guessed my likings of this entire family because of their willingness to share their faith and Christian beliefs with others.

In the book written by family members Korie Robertson and Chrys Howard, called FAITH COMMANDER, "Living Five Values From the Parables of Jesus,"  we catch a glimpse of ways in which we, too, can find the courage and determination to tell the gospel story.

Korie writes of faith formation in the life of son, Jace.  From his exposure to the Bible and its stories, its application, and the way it fits into life situations, all pointed young Jace to a life of belief.  He had seen God working in the lives of family members with a history of bad choices and their transformation into God fearing believers, evidenced through their complete surrender to the will of God.

The story continues when Jace told them of an event in his life.  He had always been a good kid, with a great deal of shyness.  That concerned him because he didn't want to be too shy to share his faith.  Even I can remember at age 14 being like Jace.  But one night, just as he had finished praying about being more vocal about his Christianity, something happened.  

Around midnight, Jace's phone rang and he answered it with the traditional "hello."  He could tell someone was on the line and persisted in getting them to say who they were and what they wanted.  There was nothing but silence from the calling party.  Was it a prank call?  Should he just hang up?

Here's a quote from the book, telling what Jace did. He spoke to the silent caller, "You know what?  I'm glad you called. because I've been wanting to share my faith in Christ, and I've been unable to do it in public because I'm shy.  So I'm going to share with you what I'm in to."  That was the beginning point of Jace introducing someone to Jesus Christ.

Jace continued talking and could hear the rustling of paper from the caller, but still no words.  Could it be this silent caller was following along and turning pages in the Bible as Jace talked?  That call went on for three hours, and ended only when Jace ran out of things to say.  He invited the caller to call back the next night, same time.

Sure enough, at midnight the next night, the caller called again, but again remained silent.  Jace put in another three hours, telling the story of Jesus in his life, and this time, near the end of the call, Jace could hear an outcry of emotion, and the caller hung up.  Even Jace came away from that experience with Jesus being more real to him.  He also realized that what Jesus represents for us through his death and his resurrection, and his work at the right hand of God on our behalf, is powerful and captivating.

I challenge you to get this book and read more about Jace.  What a wonderful example he is to those of us who fumble and mumble when we are asked to tell our story.  Like his mom says, "That is faith in action"

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