“To be, or not to be, that is the question”. A famous quote from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. How or where am I going with this?
As I go about my daily events, I ran across a few articles on chaplaincy, an endeavor I have attempted to fill the last several years. Practically all the articles touched on the subject of “not proselytizing” of anyone a chaplain may be speaking to.
I have been around long enough to know that I can’t do much for someone of another religion, such as hindu, islam, etc. But being a devout Christian, it is also my obligation for the person’s soul to absolutely speak the Gospel and attempt to convert them. After all, there is only one way to Heaven.
So, where would that leave one who chooses to not fulfill their calling and avoid the mere mention of Christ, saving Grace, and salvation? It struck me hard, reading how most mainstream Christian churches and organizations, would rather allow the person to speak what their need is and then meet them on neutral ground. Makes me wonder if the person was a satanist, would there be a search for a middle ground?
Being a Chaplain to a lot of people of various backgrounds and beliefs, that shouldn’t cause one to temper the Christian faith to a lesser means. Christ, and after Him, the Apostles, all encountered a magnitude of people. None of these people had even heard of Christ, had their own customs and religious beliefs. Yet the Apostles went about their calling and “commission” to spread the Gospel to these individuals. It wasn’t toned down or completely ignored, much less an attempt to meet a pagan religion on common ground.
Maybe this is also part of why we find ourselves in this huge quagmire of crime and sins abounding today. There is this lack of conviction, of personal determination to inform people of the saving Grace that only Christ offers. Even in the face of Divine instruction, the need to speak the Truth from the rooftops, has willingly been limited to mere whispers among the faithful.
The cross “offends” us all. It reminds every single one of us of our shortcomings. Things we don’t want to think about. The cross is very offensive in this day and age of “I have a right to______(fill in the blank) with: pick a gender; be gay; kill a child in the womb; etc etc. It is so offensive that many want it gone, removed from sight and never spoken of again. Then there are those who speak of the cross, and shy away from offending anyone. I would hope that deep down inside, they know it is an offense against God to shun the calling, but at the same time, I wonder if they even care.
Here we are, where do we go from here and lift ourselves out of this mess? Don’t think that is the plan. Evil has to increase to bring on other glorious events, essentially there is no stopping it. However, the need to save souls, that never ceases, even in the face of grave danger and ridicule. Keep speaking the Gospel, keep speaking of Christ and remember: If the world hates you, it hated Christ first. Make the choice to be strong in the Faith, rather than to not be.
Keep the faith!