Eric Metaxas in his book “Letter to the American Church” calls out the American Church for being silent in such dark times. He compares the silence of today’s church to the silence of the German church during the Holocaust.
If Eric is even slightly right, why have so many in the church chosen to be quiet? Will there be blood on the hands of Christians? The prophet Ezekiel records for us these words of warning. “Son of man, I have chosen you to be a watchman over the people of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, tell them of the danger. If I say to the sinful man, ‘You will die for sure,’ and you do not tell him of the danger, and try to turn him from his sinful way so that he may live, that sinful man will die in his sin. But you will be guilty for his blood. (Ezekiel 3:17-18).” And while that was a direct command given to Ezekiel, all Christians have been given the commandment to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus (Mark 16:16).
Can we not see that the fields are ripe? Or are we afraid of the persecution that may come from telling others about Jesus? It’s certainly not because we can’t see that our world is broken. And it’s not the Right against the Left. It’s righteousness verse unrighteousness. And Christians have the manual, the Holy Word of God, the Bible, for shedding light on today’s sinful deeds.
As we look around in our communities today, there are opportunities everywhere to share the truth about the sanctity of life. How life is formed in the mother’s body before birth (Psalm 139:13-18). You and I have the opportunity to share the value of life. How that God created male and female in His image. How God doesn’t create any junk. (Genesis 1:27-29). And while the world chooses to fight over racism, we know that God teaches his disciples to consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). When others are fighting over politics, progressive agendas, and other things. We have the responsibility and the opportunity to remain calm because we know our God has given us complete joy (John 15:11; 1 John 1:4). The next time you think about how bad our world is, stop and seek for an opportunity to make it a little better by sharing the love of Christ.
Almighty God, I pray you will open our eyes to see the ripeness of the fields all around us. As the days grow darker in our world, as your approach draws closer, let us all realize the responsibility we have in sharing your gospel of hope. And when fingers are pointed at us, or when worse our lives are in danger, let us stand firm in your truth. Let us not have blood on our hands for remaining silent. And this is Jesse Walker with the Glenwood Church of Christ.
