Gospel Urgency

"The message we have been commanded to deliver, to repeat with all the freshness that the creative Spirit imbues us with, is of immense and contemporary urgency...but it is a hard message, a hard saying, and it can barely be heard let alone accepted unless we ourselves are the living witnesses of its authenticity." ~John Main, Community of Love As Christians we are called to bear testimony to what Jesus Christ has done, historically and personally - we are to be able to tell others the personal impact that being united to Christ has made in our lives. The world has all sorts of insufficient answers to who Jesus is, but we, who know him, must have a better answer, an answer that brings truth and hope and light into an ever darkening world. This is indeed a hard task. But it is the one we have been given. I don't typically comment on politics very often but today I will make one general observation. The issue I hear discussed most frequently among conservative Christians in particular is that we are losing our religious freedom in the United States. I won't argue that point, I believe that we are. However, to those same people I will offer this for thought: it doesn't change our message or our mandate. And I will also offer this challenge: what have your churches done with the religious freedom they previously enjoyed? Why is it that in this era after those churches enjoyed such freedom to speak of God and Jesus that we now live in a country where tens and tens of millions of people don't know Christ? What did you do with the opportunity you had? Is is possible that had there been a greater urgency in sharing the gospel and discipling people, rather than taking that freedom for granted, that perhaps we might not find ourselves in quite the position we are in? I say again, whether we have religious freedom or not, our message and our mandate is the same. Perhaps our greatest efforts and energies should be directed there. Grace & Peace, Micah