The Servants' Song

No one seems to be updating, so I thought I’d post another thought to keep this place “alive”.

You know, sometimes I look at the efforts of other people in trying to convert people to Christianity (any of the various denominations), and I think to myself, “Is this what Jesus has really called us to do?”

I’m sure many of you have seen people like that – the ones who try very hard to “sell” Christianity to you, constantly prying into your personal life in an attempt to “point you in the right direction”. I mean, I remember hearing from my friends in secondary school (er, I think the equivalent is junior high/middle school) that one of our classmates told them that if they didn’t convert to Christianity immediately, they’d burn in hell. At that time, I thought, “Wow, what a way to get people to convert.”

Though there is a small element of truth in the above sentence (after all, if you choose not to believe right to the end you’ll probably end up there), I don’t believe that Christ has called us to impose our views on others through such hardselling techniques and at times I feel some people are too hung up on trying to impose their beliefs on others. Yes, we are all called to evangelise and spread the Gospel, but do we really have to pressure others into believing that God is alive in all of us? I believe that our God is a God of love, who gives freely and is always there for us. How, then, can such a God be seen as one who’d promote the use of threats and strong language to spread His Word? I don’t know if this is the case with many of you, but if someone were to approach me on the streets and start hounding me with questions and bible verses, my initial reaction would be to run away as quickly as possible. How then will that help us to bring Christ to the other people around us?

I’m not really sure if I’m right, since these are mostly just my thoughts, but I think that the best way to influence a person into believing that God exists is to show him/her of this beautiful fact through our daily lives. As we go about our work, our actions will speak loudly to others on the importance of Christ in our lives. Others who see us will know that with God in our lives, we’re content. They will then want to seek God in their lives as well! It is at that moment that we then introduce, albeit slowly, our friends who are “non-believers” to the wonder that is God’s love. It is at that moment that we help them with the questions they may have, and introduce them to the various programmes that will allow them to better understand Christianity (like RCIA). It is through all these that one day, perhaps, these same people we have brought close to God can themselves bring others into our family.

So to me, it is definitely more pertinent, and more effective, to use our lives as a testament to God’s love for us as compared to toting bible verses and telling others of the horrors of hell. As St Paul puts it aptly, “Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.” Even if we’ve memorised the bible from cover to cover, all this knowledge is worthless if we do not extend God’s love to our brothers and sisters who have not yet experienced it.