3:196 – Faith Bubbling

#faithbites #faithjourney bubbling

Setting

All of us are all too familiar with the concept of social distancing. We need to stay at least 6 feet away from people. We’ve seen videos of people talking through the glass, standing on opposite sides of the room, and the all too common Zoom call. Have you heard of social bubbling? This is where you open your family bubble up, just a little bit, to include another person or another family. You know where they’ve gone, they know where you’ve gone. 

Today we opened up our bubble just a little bit for one day so our kids could play with their friends who were in from out of town. They laughed, they hugged, they swam. They reconnected. Now, it’s not a permanent expansion nor did we leave off any precautions. But it was a nice change.

In your religious life are you faith distancing or faith bubbling? Faith distancing is what many of us do. We talk about our faith only with those who are in the same religion or church. It’s not part of our daily life and wee definitely don’t share it with people we don’t know.  Faith bubbling would be where we reach out to those we know who may not be in the faith. We share ideas, thoughts, fears, and faith with them. They may not even believe in God but we do it in a respectful way. When we do that, we act more like Jesus and the Apostles. Are you faith bubbling?

Scripture

• Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
• Isaiah 6:8 – And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
• Matthew 28:19 – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Reflection

The scriptures are very clear. We are chosen by God and commissioned to go out and make disciples of all nations. This isn’t a light commission. Jesus isn’t telling us to keep our faith distance and just talk to those in the family. He specifically is commanding us to bubble our faith and bring others in. 

Just like in social bubbling, there is fear. Did I open my bubble to large or too soon? Did that new family follow the precautions that they said they did? Are we going to get sick anyway? Most of these directly apply to faith bubbling. Will the person be open? Will I lose my way if I talk to someone outside the faith? Is it even worth my time?

Jesus tells us that he wants everyone to know his Word and his Father. We all have the challenge to be faith bubblers. To make disciples of all nations is one of the greatest things we can do. It’s not easy and quite scary, but just as there is joy in enlarging your social bubble, enlarging your faith bubble can bring so many new relationships and help someone find eternal salvation. 

So, will you open your bubble?

Challenge

Find one person who you want to invite into your faith bubble. Slowly open up about your faith. See how they respond. Don’t push, but kind and in love. Trust me, you don’t need any magical words, just how Jesus is working in your life. We all have a story to tell. 

Prayer

Father God, as we adjust to live in the COVID world, help us as we slowly open our social bubbles. Let us be safe and keep everyone protected. At the same time, give us your power to open our faith bubbles up. Let us talk to people about faith who maybe we never thought of before. Let your words flow through us as we build new relationships and help people find your kingdom. We know both kinds of opening are scary, but you will never abandon us and will smooth the stormy seas. In your name, Amen.