" . . . That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus."
Notice (from above) that the faithful churchman's effective evangelism is largely the result of simply recognizing that God has instilled in us a lot of wonderful and blessed graces. In other words, evangelism is more about *who* we are, than it is about *what* we do (or even what we say). Of course, our nature dictates our actions.
But Paul's corrective here is important. Too often, Christians have tried to succeed by policy or program; when God would have us do well naturally, by character and grace. Do not be discouraged today, if you belong to Christ--instead, hold your head up, and recognize that the Lord has invested many marvelous blessings in you.
[Puritan quote of the day: "The liberty of the church, of the Word and sacraments, along with order in the church, brings in spiritual liberty and preserves it." --Richard Sibbes, in "Glorious Freedom"]
