Imagine you are sitting on a bench in a park, and you have two sandwiches. You are not all that hungry - one sandwich would have been plenty. While you are enjoying your sandwich someone sits next to you and looks longingly at your other sandwich. Something about that person that makes you think that she hasn't eaten for quite some time. So you offer your second sandwich to her, right?

It has been my observation that most people have a kind and compassionate nature and are usually willing to share their resources when the opportunity arises. But there is one important resource that doesn't often get offered, simply because people don't realize how much they have of it, and how much someone else might need what they have. And that is the resource of faith.

Often, when we think of sharing our faith, the image that comes to mind is someone who goes from door to door with an evangelical tract and an agenda of getting the other people to subscribe to a set of believes. But is that really what most people need? And is that what faith is really all about?

Faith for me is first of all, an ability to trust God, to trust in the goodness of life, to trust that after the rain there will be sunshine again, to know that God is with us on good days and on bad. Such faith helps people cope with illness or the loss of a job or the death of a loved one. It doesn't make life easier, but it does help to get through it one day at a time.

To have such faith is a great treasure.

But there are some who don't have this treasure. Like the boss who commits suicide after he loses his high-powered job. Like the shopaholic who buys things that she neither wants nor needs, just to fill the hole in her life. Or the person who overworks, simply because he doesn't know what to do with himself when he is not at work. There are many people who live lives of quiet despair.

What does it mean to share one's faith in such a context? I don't think it means quoting Bible verses at someone. You wouldn't want that if you were in their shoes, would you?

But a kind word, an invitation for a walk in the park or a shared meal at lunch might be appreciated. Or not. Be prepared for the other person to say no. There might be a million reasons for the other person not to take you up on your offer - reasons that have nothing to do with you, reasons that do not mean a rejection, reason that do not mean you have failed.

The other person may or may not want to talk, and that is fine either way. You are not meant to be a counselor or a problem solver or an advice giver. The best you can offer is simply to be yourself. If you enjoy talking sports - talk sports. Faith often shows itself much more in "being" rather than in "doing". Just being around a positive, friendly, cheerful person can be a balm for the soul. Be that person. And trust that the Holy Spirit will be your guide.

Pastor Bea Chun