Even in My Weakness

Typically, the way of evangelism in America is a multi-year process involving relationship and building of trust. I cannot say that I have "preached the Gospel" to many people in my life. And I think that's sad. It's sad that straight-up evangelism isn't a more common thing in America. Perhaps it's not even a common thing anywhere. The fear of evangelism for me and maybe others is a confidence issue. What will they think of me? What if I don't have the words to accurately describe the Gospel? This fear makes me so aware of my own weakness.

Through prayer and teaching this week, I feel like I am going to explode. My heart's desire is to simply understand the scriptures in a consistent way so that my heart would believe and have faith in God. Yet I often feel that I am battling my pre-conceived notions and assumptions. Being here has made me more hungry for the Word. I hope that we all re-assess what we believe and ensure that the scriptures are our foundation. We must receive the Word at face value and not attempt to twist it or interpret it in a way that fits with our perspective. It has to be the opposite. We have to be willing to re-work our beliefs and faith simply because it is in accordance with scripture.

This process takes great humility. Perhaps what strikes me the most about being here is the humility. We are all weak and broken men trying to live out a life that is worthy of the Gospel. We are well acquainted with our weakness and our need for grace. We are familiar with our degenerate and wicked hearts. We need the Spirit to help us and give us strength. There is no boasting, no comparison. Our hope is the cross alone. What a beautiful place to be. I can let go of my self-righteousness and humble myself to receive the mercy of God and take Him at His word. He crushes our pride, our self-righteousness, and our strength. We become more and more aware of our wickedness and depravity and how unlike God we are. This is the way of the cross.

~Chris