If we Don't Tell, They'll Never Hear

​There's no time for a fluffy preamble to this post. I am burning inside because of the world we live in. Yes, it's been "bad" for a while, but it's becoming increasingly worse. 

I often wondered how the day Christ returns could be like the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39)...people living life and going about their business. People getting married and having parties. But I think I'm beginning to see how that could be. 

Noah was a freak according to those in his community. He was preparing for something so far out of left field that they couldn't begin to fathom the legitimacy of his conviction. They couldn't perceive the reality of the situation Noah was telling them they were in. Could it be that these people were so far removed from God and so enmeshed in their everyday lives and desires that they slid incrementaly further every day from God, and their eyes had slowly dimmed over time? They were smack dab in the middle of the forest and couldn't see the trees.

Further...could that happen again today? 

Let's take a minute to think about how far we've moved away from a God-fearing society and how much closer we've drawn to a self-absorbed culture. Even within our churches and ministries, the focus is very much on the bottom line and what best suits us. As a people, we tend to focus on and measure success by our "like" and "follow" counts, our page views, our class rank, our upward mobility, our church collection balance, our attendance rate, our net worth, our "shares" and "comments". We're a culture obsessed with InstaStories, Facebook Lives, YouTube, self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-care. Are these evil in and of themselves? Of course not. However, the prevelance of their existence in our lives and even in our churches is a testimony to the level of self-promotion we crave. The Bible tells us to die to self. Our culture tells us to focus on self. 

I'm not immune. I celebrated 10,000 "Likes" on Facebook just a couple of weeks ago. It's a constant battle for me to remember that God doesn't give me an audience of 1 or 10,000 for my own purposes. It's all and always will be for Him. But why DID He give me an audience of 10,000? If it's for Him, then I HAVE to share what He tells me to share, what stands up to Scripture, and mirrors the message of the Apostles who came long before me. And most importantly--what is True and glorifies Him and only Him. I can't cave to fear or anxiety or insecurity. I can't allow my fake humility (READ: fear of backlash) to keep me from speaking His Truth...even if my knees knock and my voice shakes. 

So what do I believe He's telling me right now? 

It's time to get up. 

It's  time to stop hiding.

It's time to stop tip-toeing around His Truth and start delivering His message exactly as He delivered it to us. His Word is clear. When we take the time to stay in tune with Him by reading the Bible and being in prayer daily, He will clarify. He will teach us. He will embolden us. He will pave the way before us, walk along beside us, and watch our backs behind us as we blaze the trail among the people in our circles. We aren't individually called to save the world. We aren't even called to preach the Gospel to the whole world. But...God has us (and plans to work through us) right where we are. 

But are we willing? Do I stay safely behind my computer screen, safe in my thoughts that posting this blog is enough? Writing studies, sharing memes, posting witty one-liners that make people feel convicted but not moved to action... is that enough? 

What about you? Does this post make you uncomfortable? Is there something that God has nudged you to do or say that you haven't for whatever reason? We can't complain that the world is going to hell if we're not willing to be a part of saving it. 

We can't tell God to use us and not be willing to be used. 

We can't survey the scene and fiddle while Rome burns. 

How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14