“If
we
were half the church we sing about, we would be unstoppable”.
That
statement, made by a song leader at a conference I was at last
year, has
bothered me ever since I heard it.
Think
about the words we sing so regularly.
“If
Jesus goes with me, I will go!”
Really? We sing
that but do we
mean it? To be honest,
most of the time
I do not want to go anywhere. I would rather stay at home and be
comfortable.
“I
am
mine no more. I’ve been
bought with
blood. I am mine no more.” Really? In reality, it seems like most
people are planning
their life and future with very little thought about anyone other
than
themselves.
“All
to
Jesus I surrender!” Really? Then just leave your car or
truck keys with
me, I will sell them and use the money for ministry. You will not mind walking
home, right?
The
list could go on and on. We
sing about
some huge commitments. However,
if we
are not living those commitments in a meaningful way, then we must
ask, “What
is missing?”
I
do
not think we are missing the proper desire.
Go to any church and ask if they would like to see people
being saved and
they would all say “yes”. I
do not
believe that the issue is ability. Most
Christians know enough to tell someone about the gospel. I do not believe that power
is the
problem. After all, we
have the inspired
word and, as baptised believers, the Holy Spirit living within us. What is the issue then?
I
think
our problem is fear! We
are afraid to
try and fail. But failure
is part of
learning. Doing something
poorly is the
only path to doing it well. When
a baby
is learning to walk, we cheer for the three steps they took. We do not berate them for
falling over at the
end. We must get past our
fear and try,
because fear will never produce anything worthwhile.
The
Hebrew writer said it this way, “We are not those who shrink back
and are
destroyed, but those who believe and are saved” (Hebrews 10:39).
We
must
learn to act in faith, hope and trust, because those are qualities
that God can
use.
Do not wait until you feel ready and do not allow fear to stop you from doing the good you can do.
Do not wait until you feel ready and do not allow fear to stop you from doing the good you can do.
As
Edmund Burke said, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did
nothing
because he could only do a little”.
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