(These are the transcripts of a series of ‘Midday Meditations’ – 60-second devotionals – broadcast on Radio Cayman in April 2019)
Magic duo Penn and Teller are atheists. Not just agnostics, who say that they’re not sure whether there’s a god or not, but atheists: they’re SURE there isn’t a God and will happily argue with anyone who says there is. So it was curious when Penn posted a video on YouTube about a Christian who gave him a Bible and described that guy in a positive light.
If you really believe – Penn said – that Jesus died and rose again and that the consequences of sin are real, how could you NOT tell people about it? To put it another way, how much do you have to hate someone to NOT tell them about it if you believe it’s a matter of eternal importance?
That can be hard though, because so many people – even some people who call themselves Christians – think it’s offensive to share your faith. But imagine if your friend had just been told by her doctor that if she kept drinking she’d have liver failure within five years, and then you were out with her and she ordered a bottle of wine. Would you say to yourself, I must keep quiet, because I don’t want to offend her? Of course not, you’d urge her in the strongest terms to go for a fruit juice instead.
How much more true should it be that Christians, in gentleness and respect, are known for telling other people what we know to be true about God?
Paul T Reynolds 