Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.
~St.Francis of Assisi
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This commonly used quote got me thinking, as of late. Thinking of how the word of God is spread, and how evangelism is conducted. Thinking about all the good church-goers of America, from the buckle of the bible belt all the way the corners of the continent.
How we praise the Lord inside the walls of our comfortably air conditioned chapels an hour a week is one thing, but how the Truth is spread for the other 167 hours is, shall we say, slightly important?
Currently, I strive to let my actions speak for themselves; to let the aim of being more Christ-like be made evident in the way I live. I fervently pursue that which brings me closer to Him in order to succeed in this endeavor. And I pray that the right words fall into place when and where the Lord needs to speak through me. I'm not going to say that I've got it right yet, as there's more growing to be done. There's more truth to be found. As Bluetree proclaims in the song i'm somewhat obsessed with, there's greater things to be done here. But lets take a quick look at James 2:14-26:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder"
We see all the good Christians that go to Church on Sunday, as if they're headed to the gas station to refill their spiritual tanks, and then get right back on the highway of life, without a second thought of how critical the 13 gallons of unleaded is to the next 350 miles. They're more concerned with what song they missed over the radio while standing at the pump.Ok so i'm being insanely unfair thus far, as there's a HUGE portion of the Christian community that is far from that. But I'm getting at a trap that's easy to fall into... being spiritual, but falling short of truly LIVING it. Of honestly being more concerned with saving others than just saving ourselves. I'm not going to cover this topic in one forum post, nor could I do it justice. I'm just going for one thing here... living as you believe.
The ironic thing is, St.Francis was an open air preacher.
And I can look up any number of verses that make it how clear it is to preach the word... how about Mark 16:15 -
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
Preaching, in the bible, is very clearly translated to mean talking with someone. So honestly, the ability to actually "preach" the word of God to the world is kinda necessary. As Christians, the Great Commission (i'm too lazy to go anywhere but wikipedia, lol) is pretty important. And with it is the emphasis on evangelism, and missions work. I'm pretty sure that if I had been brought up in the church, I would be somewhere in Africa or Asia right now, lol... Well really my point is that I'm no missionary just yet, and I'm not convinced that I will ever be, only that I if i was prepared, I would never have a second thought on it. We're all given gifts to use in fulfilling His purpose for us, but that's another discussion althogether. I'm just concerned about how easy it is to sing His praise at one moment, but how quickly the song stops when it cuts into our busy little lives.I know how relatively convenient it is to take an afternoon off, or a spring break off, and attempt to do some good in the world and spread the good news by swinging a hammer. I read an account about a group of young people walking along the street downtown, clearly not fitting in there, with bibles in their hands ready to "evangelize" the inner city; Smiles on their faces as they strutted along. Of how, ever unconsciously in these situations, we're so happy with ourselves for taking a couple hours out of our comfortable suburban life, and then returning. We've sacrificed our time, we've done good deeds. But have we, really? The point of the story was that if these people really wanted others to see Jesus, then they should sell their posessions, and go down there and live with them. To be a part of their lives. The apostles threw down their nets, their whole lives, and followed Jesus.
Christianity, and more specifically evangelism itself has been described as "one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread".
I'm not saying we should all throw our current lives away and go live in a cardboard box to be good Christians. It's inspiring to see how some extremely committed people find ways of fitting a little bit more in for others, even when they're already struggling to keep themselves afloat. I admire those with such a giving spirit. But I'm asking how much we're willing to sacrifice, when we hear the call. I'm asking where your priorities are, and if that's where you really want them. I'm asking you to not be afraid of asking. And in turn, not be afraid to act. Because it's one thing to preach the gospel, but another to live it. Both are, for lack of a stronger word, necessary.
We're living in God's world. So don't fit God into your own little box. Fit yourself into His box.
