Faith: Pass it on

Sharing the faith is like marketing, and looks easy to do. But it takes the very serious and skilled to make it work. St. Paul was a great example of this in how he mentored St. Timothy.

We see on social media how things go viral, usually because a product or service, or idea, generates enough enthusiasm that it spreads and causes people to tell their friends and associate about it.

The life in Christ can be the same way.

But none of this happens by chance. For example, St. Paul told St. Timothy to pass on everything he had learned from him, but not just to anybody. He carefully instructed Timothy to set the standard high: Select “faithful men” who have the heart and the skills to teach others.

These men would then do the same thing, selecting great leaders and teaching them God’s truth, and they’d do the same thing with people they selected. Today most of us can look back at a generation or two of faithful people who where part of  viral marketing the Faith to our generation.

And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well.  2 Timothy 2:2

Discipleship is like the apprenticeship model described by Fr. Burke Masters : 1) I do, you watch. 2) I do, you help. 3) You do, I help. 4) You do, I watch.

This is a function of CMCS, to help men develop a relationship with Jesus Christ to the point that it spreads. But before it can spread, He needs to dwell in the center of our lives.

We know this is happening when others tell us they see it, when we are developing relationships with others who also live their faith.

Sometimes it takes one man to plant the seed, and another man to nurture it. Sometimes it is us who does the planting and nurturing, other times we are receiving it.

The important thing is that we keep our eyes open for the ‘flags’ that tell us to pass it on. Faith that is developed by watching others example living out their faith. This is in connection to the signs from the Bible, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and through prayer.

In our information overload culture, marketing today means more about being ‘attractive’ in a way that causes others to take notice and spread it, than to push our message onto everyone we think will hear it. There are many businesses who glorify God as their mission, but you don’t see any of that in their marketing or the main areas of their website … it’s how they do business that makes them different. So, too, it should be with our own lives.

How do you live your life in a way that is attractive for God? Who do you look to as a mentor in your own faith? Do you have a list of other men who you pray for and consider mentoring living their faith? Do you have a life mission that includes how you impact this generation for Jesus who, in turn, pass this on to others?

Frank J Casella