Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Sorry, St. Francis

St. Francis of Assisi is famous for having said, "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words."  Now, I think I understand his intention:  be a witness in your actions, even if words are hard to come by.  I once read of a young man, who, as he was greeted by the pastor leaving church following an especially powerful message about witnessing, said in a whisper, "I believe in witnessing; I'm just in the Secret Service."

My friend Mark Wilson says, "Silence, when it comes to undercover Christianity, isn't always golden.  Sometimes, it's just plain yellow."  He goes on to write, "Too many cowardly Christians hide behind the skirts of St. Francis."  We definitely need to let our love for others show in our actions.  We need to do good things for our neighbors.  We need to display the love of Christ in all that we do.  But at some point, we have to own the responsibility to share with others the message of the gospel.  It's necessary.  We must use words.

We talk about what we cherish, what we love.  What are you going to talk about today?

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