My Commitment....

A friend sent me a hyperlink that is changing my life. Amazingly, it is a link of someone who is a vocal atheist - someone who even won the Richard Dawkins award (an annual award given to a person who is a proponent of atheism). Maybe it's because it came from such an unlikely source that it has impacted me so much.

Most people have heard of Penn and Teller. Their unique approach to comedy and magic has made them popular in Vegas and on various programs around the world. Penn - the big guy with the long hair - is the atheist I was referring to. He does a regular video blog where he talks for 5 minutes or so on whatever topic he wants to discuss. It was through this venue that I came face-to-face with my own inconsistencies.

In this session I am referring to, Penn is discussing a man that came to his show and gave him a Gideon Bible - a little New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. Penn was impressed with this business man who, in his words, "cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible..."

That coming from an atheist is impressive. But there was something else that he said that hit me like a ton of bricks. In talking about sharing your faith, he said: "And I've always said, you know, that I don't respect people who don't proselytize - I don't respect that at all. If you believe that there's a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell, or not getting eternal life, or whatever, and you think that, 'Well, it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward.'" He goes on to say, "How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming to hit you and you didn't believe it, there's a certain point where I tackle you - and this is more important than that."

That's when it hit me. How many times have I thought, "I'll just live my life so people can see that I am a Christian, and that will be witness enough." A witness is someone who tells what he or she has seen or experienced. What would it be like if you were called on the witness stand and all you did was smile and show that you are a good and friendly person? Would the judge say, "Thank you so much for being such a good witness?" No - they actually call that contempt of court!

So here's my commitment: I will pray every day that God will lead someone to me that I can witness to, and then I will spend my day with my eyes open looking for opportunities to share Christ with them. No longer will I rely on being the "silent witness." I want my voice to be heard!

And you? What will you commit to do starting today?

God bless you abundantly!