thoughts...

I've been wondering lately about witnessing. Okay...honestly--it is one of the things I think about the most. Witnessing. When was the last time I really did it? My conclusion is that we, as a people, are content to witness very little. We instead are content just to "plant a seed". We hear about it all of the time. Think you should have said more? Don't worry, you "planted a seed". Stopped short of vocally laying out the Gospel? Don't worry. You are just one among many who "planted a seed". I fear that we have heard too much about the statistics behind a conversion. You know what I mean...the "how-many-times-a-person-must-hear-before-they-are-saved" statistic. Just how many times is it again? 100? 500? The number, I'm quite sure, would startle us even today. Along with this comes all of the catchy sayings. Quotes like, "Your actions speak so loudly that I can't hear what you are saying". We have heard much about this. Consistency. Actions over words. Showing instead of telling.
I am convinced, however, that we are missing the boat. I am missing the boat. Everybody wants to plant a seed, but nobody is much interested in reaping a harvest. I was struck with a thought several years ago as I was praying for a friend to come to the Lord. As I was praying, I began to pray for the type of Christian that I wanted to come across that person's path. I was speechless and humbled to realize this: Our world is full of Christians who are just like me. Christians that say, sadly, very little. Who is going to do it? Who is going to open their mouth and "declare the wonders of God in their own tongue?"
I love my church. I must confess, however, that I was saddened to hear one of the leaders tell the entire congregation one time, that all they were asking of us was to invite the non-believers in our lives to church. "Don't worry about not knowing what to say--let us do that. Just invite them". I know what they were saying, but deep within my soul I felt completely disturbed. I contend that the exact opposite should be true. We expect very little out of God and even less out of ourselves. First off, we should "know what to say". Whatever happened to "Be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks"? (1 Peter 3:15) Are we ready? Secondly, and most importantly, I fear that God will not let us off the hook. He is calling us to open our mouths. Revival will not happen until we begin to publicly declare the wonders of God. Us. Common, ordinary, everyday people. We must declare the wonders of God. The more I am in my workplace, the more I am convinced that God is calling me to open my mouth in radical ways to share with people about Him. Then we can talk about bringing them into the church.