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You know this quote by St. Francis?
It’s a bunch of crap.
Not because St. Francis didn’t even say it (he didn’t), but because it’s an excuse to not evangelize properly.
Now first off, I’ll admit I’ve used that quote many times in the past – I thought it was a good way to encourage teens that they could be good Christians and not have to worry about actually saying they were Christian. But that really doesn’t makes any sense.
But the more often I think about it, words are completely necessary. We can’t be witnesses, we cannot testify to the saving grace of God if we don’t use words. Otherwise, we just look like everyone else who does good work (and not that they’re bad, but that’s not what being a Christian is all about).
But Deepu, last week you just were saying that we can’t just use words and we have to do actions. Which one is it?!
And that’s why I love the Catholic Church – it’s not an ‘either/or’ situation. It’s a ‘both/and.’
Peter proves this to us in when he denies Jesus.
Was he doing anything wrong by standing there getting warm by the fire? Likely not.
But when asked point blank if he was with Jesus (aka a Christian), he denied it. Why? Because he was afraid of being persecuted.
We need to use words. My kids don’t go a day without hearing Beth or I say, “Use your words.” We can’t express all of us without words. It’s not easy, and God knows I’ve failed at doing this many times. But if we aren’t willing to admit and share with others that we are Christians, we can’t bring others to Christ. We don’t need to (and shouldn’t) shove it down someone’s throat and condemn or judge anyone for not being Christian, because 1) that won’t bring anyone to the faith, 2) we’re not supposed to judge others, and 3) Jesus calls us to be disciples, not jerks.
Thanks for the pick me up of a post…I promise I will use my words this week.