Salvation and the Witness
Who is it good for?

Okay, so for some reason I've recently gotten a bee in my bonnet to read the Bible more. For those of you that know me, you'll remember that this has been quite a chore for me... one that I have sometimes carried with shame and other times have looked on almost defiantly. That's another post, though, so go ahead and comment on how unhealthy it is for me as a Christian to have an urge to read Plato but not seem to be able to squeeze that all-important devotional reading into my schedule. Maybe I'll address it later.

My point is that I came across that all-too-well-known parable about the seed in the soil. The one that so confused the crap out of the disciples. The one that we drill into kids heads in Sunday school hoping we'll scare them into being "good soil."

Anyhow, I got to thinking about it in terms of my previous posts... that so much emphasis is put on "the message" and our belief systems that we forget that we're seeking a person, not a set of blueprints. And it dawned on me how little emphasis in that parable is put on how the seed reached the soil.

People honestly get worried sick about "witnessing" because they're afraid they're going to do it wrong. How much simpler things would be if witnessing were simply the process of telling people what God has done and is doing with me... and if we would accept the fact that the responsibility for a person's salvation is God's and not mine.

And a lot of people are saying, "Yeah, yeah, we know all this." But we DON'T. It's something else that we say we believe but we don't really believe. Because all of the emphasis within our congregations is put on one thing: COMMUNICATION OF THE MESSAGE. How effectively is it communicated? Is it understandable? Will it hold attention? Is it appealing to the 18-25 year olds? Was it timed correctly? It didn't come across as too harsh, did it?

I don't want to cynically write all of this off as the simple desire to appeal to more people in order to get their tithe money. I think that, for most people, they honestly and sincerely want the message to be communicated for good reasons. Unfortunately, it is misguided to put faith in a message or the transmission of a message. We are simply not perfect vessels.

On the flip side of this, I think this is also why Christians freak out so bad when people say things that they philosophically/theologically disagree with. Since so much stock is placed in the communication of and acceptance of messages, it logically follows that the results of these activities can either be cause for celebration or down-right disasterous. So our response is to avoid the danger by simply stamping out what we believe to be a flawed message (and usually the messenger gets their share also).

So if it's not our delivery of the message that saves people, what's the good of "witnessing." I don't know. Is there a "good", per se? The same way that there is a good in teaching a child not to cross the street against the lights? It doesn't look like it, especially if we really accept the fact that it isn't us, but God that handles the whole salvation thing.

But I'll tell you one thing... God has done some things with me that I honestly enjoy telling other people about when I have the chance. And I think it's good for me to do it, too, because it reminds me of how good God has been to me, or it reminds me of something important that he's taught me... or a host of other things. Maybe "witnessing" is of more benefit to the one doing the deed than the recipient. Maybe the good is more readily likened to the good that results in scratching an itch or eating when I'm hungry.
posted by Stephen at 9:56 PM | |