Bold Compassion

7/3/14                 Miguel                     about 23  

Miguel, caring for his infant daughter t the park, answered my question about his beliefs with a shrug, saying “Who knows?  There are so many religions out there.  They are all pretty much the same, they all teach us to be good people.”  So what makes Christianity different?  To share the Gospel do we need to tear other religions down in order to build Christianity up?  How can we positively share the uniqueness of the Gospel?  I told Miguel “The Bible teaches that Adam and Eve were given the knowledge of good and evil.  All people have a conscience, and generally know right from wrong.  It wouldn’t be surprising then that religions have developed that have strong ethical systems.  I’m glad they do in fact, because they help create the stable societies that we live in.” (I know religion is also the source of much conflict, but I didn’t go there.)  “And they all have ways to deal with the fact that although we know right from wrong, we don’t follow it.  What makes Christianity unique is that it teaches we can’t pay for our wrong actions with our good deeds.  It teaches that Jesus took our punishment for us, and that we can put our hope in him for forgiveness.”  With his infant daughter right there in his arms, I went on to talk about Miguel’s responsibility to share the teaching of the Bible with his children, and how the decisions he is making toward God will affect not only himself but his whole family for years to come.  Not trying to manipulate Miguel with exaggerated warnings, but to simpley stick with the truth and boldly - but with compassion - proclaim it.  Please pray Miguel will respond to that these truths and more with repentance and faith in Jesus!