Freed of the Evangelical?

Drum/Clap/Drum/Clap/Drum/Clap/one,two.one,two.one,two
Pick..p'ck a p'ck,Pick..p'ck a p'ck,Pick..p'ck a p'ck,

"Well its nobody's fault but mine...

If I should die, my soul be lost. It's nobody's fault but mine

I got a bible in my home...

If I should die, my soul be lost. It's nobody's fault but mine

My mother taught me how to read...

She told me If I should die, my soul be lost. It's nobody's fault but mine

Ohhh my Lord, Oh my Lord!

My sister taught me how to pray...

She told me If I should die, my soul be lost... it's nobody's fault but mine

Nobody's fault but mine...

If I should die, my soul be lost. It's nobody's fault but mine

If I should die in my sleep, and I get left behind. My soul be lost... it's nobody's fault but mine."

                                   Nobody's fault -The Dixie Hummingbirds

In all the candid clarity supplied by a gospel harmony grown in Baptist Churches... This gem of truth landed in my ear whilst driving, listening, meditating on my own salvation.

My own salvation. How dear it is to me, to know that no force of hell, no scheme of the devil, no vice in the world of men will remove my call to priestly ordinance, or shame me out of my savior's loving gaze! (1 Peter 2:9, Hebrews 7:25) 

My thoughts then turned to the years before this truth was manifested in my life. My knowledge of the Most High was incomplete. Having yet to surrender, I sat and observed... and I see it now vividly: 

Sitting at the bar with peers, watching them laugh and love as best they could, jesting luridly and calling out to one another some witticism or other that might draw the satisfaction of a hoot or holler. What a bland taste it left too! There was nothing but death at that table. Meanwhile, all I could think about was what I knew and they did not. Whilst I would not yet act on it, I saw the depravity, and felt, in my core, the reality which can draw a soul to a savior. The unabashed sin was thriving and I could see how a mighty God might wince in disgust, that our meager race would run away from Him... And for what?! A few drinks and laughs. Tender romantic efforts to fill the loneliness of our divine nature. Or worse yet, a laughing disregard that any trapping of divinity might afford some valid peace in a world of turmoil we mocked up as one of tranquility. We were the fools of Shakespeare, but we thought the play was just a play, when the real tragedy was our own fallen world. 

And then I sighed, the dichotomy fills me with apprehension. It was one thing when I knew what I knew and did not swear fealty, when I was not born again I had no right, nor any cause to relate to my fellows the travesty of their brokenness. But now? 

There are many of my faith that cast doubts on the proper course of action here. I will leave them unnamed but I will not bestow such a mercy on the lies they spit out as vipers in our midst.

1) The act of the evangelical is a gifting for some, not for all

2) 'Living' my faith is sufficient witness of our Savior

AND the lies with which they poison their own thought-life

3) I simply must wait for the opportunity to share Christ

4) There are circles of society in my life which pose too great a risk to my relationships within them to risk being outspoken in my faith

5) Any attempt to share the good news is better left to prayer and intercession, acting may only push them away.

All of the above are lies only because of the absolute conclusions we may draw from them. They don't encourage us to proclaim good news, rather they inspire us to keep a good secret! That my dear reader, is where my apprehension lies, why at one time I could keep a good secret that I did not yet accept as truth myself, and why later, my heart would fill with guilt at my own apathy as I drove...

Which brings us back to the emerald lyrics above: We have the source of such knowledge ( the bible). Furthermore, we have been taught the skills by which to comprehend and exercise this knowledge by those who already know (sisters and mothers). Never forgetting that with these means to eternal life the responsibility now lays with us as to obtaining our salvation (It's nobody's fault but mine)!   What then will we say about the teachers? Were they not a great deal necessary in leading us onto the roadway to righteousness? Would we likely be standing in faith today were it not for hands drawing us forward unto the dawn of a new life in Christ? Hardly! We give glory unto the Father for sending those that instructed us! I do not here intend to disenfranchise the Spirit that did the saving, any more than the hearty evangelicals just mentioned would claim credit for our salvation. No, we give ALL glory to God for the son that drew us near, and I acknowledge that should God design to save a man, he need not use other men to do it. Nonetheless, we have a purpose to fill as we march into our inheritance. It is my great fear that this purpose is altogether overlooked when we rush past this pillar of the faith to get into the temple of the almighty. If we are to build in our communities of faith, we cannot ignore this structural element anymore than the cornerstone that guides the construction.

But we all to often do just this. We have not made the Gospel our own proclamation! I do not call you to go to street corners and take a sign, I do not expect you to call a work meeting and set the story straight. I call you to look at the world as though you have something to inform it of, rather than just as a waiting room before eternity! 

We all have the news to proclaim, the realms of our impact differ, the fact we must make an impact as a testament to our salvation is imperative! Setting good examples does nothing but prove goodness if Christ is not proclaimed all the while! Opportunity is just as often found when it is sought, not when it is waited for idly! Let us end these excuses and in prayer seek out those who so cannot see the dire straights of their existence

So then, will I let my fellow man, lost in the darkness, live free of the evangelical in me? God help me, I say NO!