Re (1): Evangelism - it's all about love

Val,

Well said. In reply to another letter I received via e-mail along somewhat similar lines to your own, I wrote the following reply:

"You are right to put the burden back in the lap of God. Not only is it true that neither you nor I died to save anyone's sin, but it also true that the Holy Spirit is the only agent that brings conviction, and He is not limited in the mediums He chooses to use. On our part, I think the language we are called to speak is that of authenticity, however this might manifest itself. Each one of us is uniquely gifted: there are no two people exactly alike in the overlay and combinations of gifts and talents they possess."

Posts such as yours, Val, serve to correct the lack of balance as it was represented in this last newsletter. Thanks for the counterperspective; I fear I am not immune to having my perspective skewed a bit from time to time. If you noted the message post on temptation, I have been going through a bit of a battle lately after an extended spiritual high (I am always weaker after the victory), and when I get feeling this way, I fear that my feelings of negativity and jadedness sometimes translate into my writing a bit more than what is truly appropriate. Such emotional responses do not come from the heart of the Father, but rather from a heart that has temporarily lost its connection, like the metaphor of the modem to the Internet.

It is not that what I said was wrong per se—God can still use it ;)—but that it was not as carefully balanced as it maybe ought to have been. I think this is a direct reflection of the fact that I myself am not quite as balanced as I often am at this point in time in my life. Everything always starts on the inside and is made manifest in the realm of externals: it is always the thought-life that is first corrupted before it bears a tangible fruit crop in the physical world. Of course, the same is thankfully true of winsome fruit born of the Holy Spirit: it manifests itself as the outflowing of the infilling, the inward work of grace a seed planted in the soil of the heart, that, when full grown, blossoms upward and outward into the radiance of His love, in full view of all who care to behold.

From time to time, however, the thistles and the thorns can grow up around this beautiful flower and, if not weeded out, block its sunlight, causing it to wither and its beauty to fade. There are only two masters to serve, only two types of fruit to be born: one is the fruit of God, the other that of the self. Lately, the thorns in my life have not been weeded as properly as they ought, and the fruit has been smelling of flesh: my decisions have been consistently poorer and my perspective considerably dimmer. I need to again feel the sun on my petals; my roots need to drink deeply from the spring of living water.

God bless,
Eric

The Pagan and Philosopher: Meeting over a Cup of Tea

• Re(2): Evangelism - it's all about love - By val April 14, 2003 at 04:00:30 PM