The other day, I caught a show on TV entitled “The Friend Zone.” The premise of the show is people, mostly teenagers, making the jump from the friend zone into a relationship. If you aren’t familiar with “the friend zone,” that is a term used by people who are stuck in “the friend zone.” Basically, it is two people who are friends, but one wants it to be more: a relationship. The problem is they have entered a good friends relationship and they are afraid to risk the friendship in order to take it to the “next level.”
When someone wants to move out of “the friend zone” and move into a relationship, there is a fear that grips them: The possibility of rejection or losing the friendship all together. It takes a real boldness that causes the person to be willing to admit their real feelings for the other person.
Similarly, there is a very real fear that grips Christians when they think about sharing their faith. To move from a gradual “friendship” to a relationship where you are concerned for the soul of the person. To be willing to admit that you are genuinely concerned for their eternal soul seems like a real leap of faith. What if they reject you? What if they say no?
In the familiar passage of Ephesians 6, Paul lays out what the armor of God looks like. Most Christians are familiar with this passage. However, what is missed in this passage is what Paul’s ending statement is. Ephesians 6:19-20, the verses that follow the armor of God passage state,
“And also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Paul asked the believers to pray for him to have boldness. Here is Paul, the great theologian, the original church planter, the author of over ½ the New Testament, and the greatest Christian to ever live. And he is asking for other believers to pray for him to have boldness in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Wouldn’t Paul have that boldness already? Surely he is a natural at sharing the truth of Jesus Christ? I mean, its Paul, the greatest ever. But even Paul asked for others to pray for him to have boldness.
Getting out of the “friend zone” can be difficult. Sometimes the soil is tough. Jesus spoke about this is Luke 8 (& Mark 4). But this doesn’t mean that you are not called to move out of the “friend zone” and into the “gospel zone.” Jesus is very clear that He desires you to tell others about Him. This includes being friends, but it also means serving, loving, praying, and ultimately sharing the story of Jesus Christ with them. Be loving, be servant-minded, but most importantly, be willing to move out of the “friend zone” to gospel sharing. Be bold in your witness and discover what God does with those around you.
Culturanity 