Quiet Invitation
I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed from weeping and drench my couch with tears. Psalm 6:6
There is a song I love called “Alive.” It includes the lyric, “there was a time I was dead inside.” Watching a video of the song I saw the verse above run across the screen. The theme of the song is that writer was dead inside until he heard Jesus calling his name.
Just the other day I was in St. Augustine with my family and a dear friend. We spent hours wandering in and out of stores and galleries. While we were there a man took the stage in the center of the town square and began to rant. There is no other word for it, the man was ranting. On and on, yelling and hollering out Bible verses and warning about heaven and hell.
As we were walking and hearing this never-ending stream of thoughts, for lack of a better word, I felt myself getting irritated. Instead of wondering how many people would stop and listen I wondered how many he was driving away. Think about it. Are you enticed by anger and rage? Have you ever seen your spouse or friend mid-hissy fit and thought, now would be a great time for a chat? Or does the erratic behavior of anyone make you want to know them. or more importantly, their friends, better? No!
All I could think was that Jesus never screamed at anyone. He is not quoted as saying, “Get your behind over here and listen to me, right now or burn in hell.” Never! No, Jesus’ invitation is quiet but incredibly appealing. He says, “Come follow me” (Matthew 4:19) in a quiet voice as he passes by, and Simon and Andrew follow. Just a few moments later he issues a similar invitation to James and John (Matthew 4:21-23) and they also follow.
The writer of the song “Alive” references a call of his name. He does not say, some nut job was screaming about how I was going to go to hell so I turned my life to Jesus. In fact I’ve never heard that testimony. For me, personally, it was a very quiet but very persistent call.
Walking along listening to that man screaming and yelling, I said to my family, “if you know because you know, that you are right, you don’t have to yell.” I believe that the best invitations are spoken quietly. Sometimes they are urgent and quiet, sometimes simple and quiet but always quiet.
Please know that this is my opinion. I haven’t done a study or gathered statistics. I have met a lot of Christian people and heard many change of heart stories and none of those include screaming street corner evangelism. However, I cannot say that it absolutely does not work.
I do know what the songwriter is talking about. There was a time that I too, was dead inside. I also heard that call of my name and answered and that answer has made all the difference.
There is a song I love called “Alive.” It includes the lyric, “there was a time I was dead inside.” Watching a video of the song I saw the verse above run across the screen. The theme of the song is that writer was dead inside until he heard Jesus calling his name.
Just the other day I was in St. Augustine with my family and a dear friend. We spent hours wandering in and out of stores and galleries. While we were there a man took the stage in the center of the town square and began to rant. There is no other word for it, the man was ranting. On and on, yelling and hollering out Bible verses and warning about heaven and hell.
As we were walking and hearing this never-ending stream of thoughts, for lack of a better word, I felt myself getting irritated. Instead of wondering how many people would stop and listen I wondered how many he was driving away. Think about it. Are you enticed by anger and rage? Have you ever seen your spouse or friend mid-hissy fit and thought, now would be a great time for a chat? Or does the erratic behavior of anyone make you want to know them. or more importantly, their friends, better? No!
All I could think was that Jesus never screamed at anyone. He is not quoted as saying, “Get your behind over here and listen to me, right now or burn in hell.” Never! No, Jesus’ invitation is quiet but incredibly appealing. He says, “Come follow me” (Matthew 4:19) in a quiet voice as he passes by, and Simon and Andrew follow. Just a few moments later he issues a similar invitation to James and John (Matthew 4:21-23) and they also follow.
The writer of the song “Alive” references a call of his name. He does not say, some nut job was screaming about how I was going to go to hell so I turned my life to Jesus. In fact I’ve never heard that testimony. For me, personally, it was a very quiet but very persistent call.
Walking along listening to that man screaming and yelling, I said to my family, “if you know because you know, that you are right, you don’t have to yell.” I believe that the best invitations are spoken quietly. Sometimes they are urgent and quiet, sometimes simple and quiet but always quiet.
Please know that this is my opinion. I haven’t done a study or gathered statistics. I have met a lot of Christian people and heard many change of heart stories and none of those include screaming street corner evangelism. However, I cannot say that it absolutely does not work.
I do know what the songwriter is talking about. There was a time that I too, was dead inside. I also heard that call of my name and answered and that answer has made all the difference.
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