God is LOVE!

1 John 4:8
The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

    I have heard many atheist complain about how hateful Christians can be, and unfortunately, it is true. Some Christians alienate people who are not Christians. They have clearly forgotten that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus may have been gruff with the people who should have known better like the Pharisees and Sadducees, but he was gentle with the woman at the well.
It is possible to speak even the most basic truth with such hate that the people who hear it perceive the love of God as a lie. We all (myself included) need to be careful to voice the truth of God, with the grace of God.

While the truth of God will be offensive to many people, we must be careful not to add any offensive to it with graceless and unclear words. While I doubt anyone is perfect with this, not even myself we all would do well to remember Colossians 4:6

Colossians 4:6
6 Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

HCSB

Want to know more about how you can witness with more grace and love?
I recommend Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions
by Gregory Koukl

A small percentage of your purchase will go to help fund this website.