Do you hate them?

Today we learned about China. It's a bit smaller than the United States with twice as many people. It has a really big wall running down the center of it that took 20 years to build. The most practiced religion there is Buddhism. They do not have a President, but a dictator, who gets to set the rules and the people of China have no choice but to follow them... This dictator is opposed to anything Christian and won't allow Believers to share their faith with anyone.

These are just a few of the facts that my son Caleb and I learned while completing an assignment he had for AWANA. As soon as we were finished reading the little list of fun facts about China, Caleb looked at me and said, "You mean they don't know about the God of the Bible?" to which I responded "No, they don't". His next words were this, "Then I've got to go to China, someone has to tell them about God!". He was so matter of fact about it, as if we were just going to get in the car and drive there. I can't tell you what a joy it was to see. Though he did not know all that would be involved, he was genuinely concerned for the people of China and where they will spend eternity.

So, tell the truth, is that the first thing that came to your mind when I ran through all those facts about China? Did you immediately think that you should go to China and do something to share the gospel with the perishing? No, probably not. Truth be told, it didn't occur to me either. But it should have.

I once watched a youtube post by Penn Gillete (of the famed Penn and Teller duo), where Penn went on about a man who came up to him after his show and gave him a bible. Penn, being a staunch atheist, was taken by the kindness and gentleness of this man. But the one thing that caught me was this, he said (and I'm paraphrasing) how much do you have to hate someone to believe they are going to hell and not say something. If you are a Christian and you do not share your faith, then you must really hate people.

This was an atheist who gets it, do you? Do you share your faith? Do you take the time to stop thinking about yourself for one second and inquire about someone else's eternal destiny? Do you care? If your a Believer you probably said "of course I care!" Then do something. You don't have to go to China, you can go next door. You can go to the park, the grocery store, the Library, the gas station, McDonalds, anywhere, just go. I've heard it said that Mark 16:15 was a command not a suggestion, but I'm not sure many of us see it that way. Friends, we have been given the great privilege of participating in God's call of the elect. We GET to share the good news of the Gospel! We get to tell those who have no hope, that there is hope. If you have been making excuse after excuse for not getting out there and sharing your faith, then consider yourself officially rebuked! Repent and share the gospel, today.