Acts 1:8
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Last evening at our bible study we were discussing the phrase: "Preach the gospel; if necessary use words".
Though I believe in the underlying message behind that phrase (i.e. As Christians, our actions alone should set us apart in how we live and love so much so that we don't even have to talk about it), I find myself revolting against the idea of being silent with my words.
The truth of the matter is, when I look at my life and the lives of Christians around me- there is one very wrong thing that I see we all have in common most of the time: silence.
We have grown accustomed to the idea of living our lives as mute believers.
This wouldn't be a problem if we were actually preaching the gospel with our lives, but the sad reality is that most of the time- we aren't. We aren't preaching anything. We are living a life that is in total conformity to the culture that we are a part of. We belong so well that these days there is no difference between the nice guy in the other cubicle, and the born again Christian next door (except sometimes the nice guy is nicer than the born again Christian).
I don't know about you, but I see that this life of silence is completely opposed to the lives I see lived out in the book of Acts through the early church. Not only were they opposed to silence....they were LOUD.
They lived their lives out loud, proclaiming the their devotion to the God that had changed their entire existence, redeemed them from a life of sin and death, and given them joy unspeakable. They couldn't stop talking about it. It consumed their every conversation because it just boiled over from the love that was overflowing within their hearts.
I think our main problem as Christians is that we are a little like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. We are lacking a heart of love for the world that is in devastation all around us. We are too concerned with what people will think and the negative consequences we might incur by really living our faith out loud. In other words, our fear of man supersedes our fear of God. Our fear of man is preventing us from actually loving them. Ironically, we take on these priorities without even realizing that we are ultimately in devotion to this world, serving man, and worshiping a culture that we were never even meant to be a part of.
If God has so radically changed our lives like we say He has, then something needs to change. We need to live a life of power that's sole purpose is to preach the gospel and bring love to a broken and dying world. It's time to take inventory of our silence and take the time to really address it at it's root.
Speak up, Christian. What are you afraid of?
Amen & amen!! I believe we should be more like Aslan and less like the lion in the Wizard of Oz. I think Mr. Beaver expressed it best when he said (talking about Aslan): "Safe?" "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts, like always, Deb.
Debra, it seems like you have been either reading my email, reading my mind, or listening in on my conversations! You are spot on with your writing about our obligation to spread the Gospel to a lost and dying world.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam for your thoughts about the comparison between Aslan and the cowardly lion, that's a really good point. We enter faith with a God that is not safe, but He is good- and calls us to be the same.
ReplyDeleteRobert, actually I haven't been reading your emails or listening in on your phone calls, haha...but I am so glad to hear that this resonates with you as much as it does with me. Glad for your heart and for your passion. Thanks for taking the time to read and for sharing your thoughts, it's always appreciated.