THEY’LL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY
OUR LOVE
The world will never be
converted by superficial spiritual-hype.
It is THE LIVING WORD that penetrates the soul and transforms the
spirit. This Word is the living and
loving embodiment of grace, mercy and truth.
And in the final analysis, it is how all of us have arrived at the foot
of the cross of Calvary.
The world will never be
drawn (authentically) to faith because of our accumulated possessions or clever
promotions. The monetary value of the
houses we own, or the vehicles we drive, or the investments we accrue will not matter
much in the mission of bringing the lost to Christ. There is only one indispensable component of
evangelism; it is the gospel of love. A true and heart-touching story illustrates
this point.
It was one of the most
extraordinary birthday parties ever held. No, it did not take place in a plush ballroom or
grand hotel. No, there weren’t any famous
celebrities present. The rich and powerful
did not attend. In fact, it was held at
3:00 a.m. in a small seedy cafe in Honolulu.
The guest of honor was a prostitute.
The party guests were prostitutes.
The man who threw the party was a Christian minister.
The idea came to Pastor Tony Campolo early one morning as he sat in
the café. He was drinking coffee at the
counter, when a group of prostitutes walked in and sat at the stools around
him. One of the girls named Agnes lamented
the fact that tomorrow would be her birthday but she never had a birthday
party.
Tony thought it would be a great idea to surprise Agnes with a
birthday party. Learning from the cafe
owner that the girls came in every morning around 3:30 a.m., Tony planned with
him to set up the café for a party. Somehow,
word of this got out on the streets, so by 3:15 the next morning the place was
packed with prostitutes, along with the cafe owner, his wife and Tony.
Agnes walked in and saw the streamers, balloons and birthday cake,
as everyone screamed out “Happy Birthday!” Agnes was totally overwhelmed. Tears poured down her face as the crowd sang “Happy
Birthday to You.” When Agnes was called
on to cut the cake, she paused. She had
never had a birthday cake and asked if she could take it home to show her
mother. After Agnes left there was a reverential
silence as Tony led the café owner, his wife and a roomful of prostitutes in
prayer, both for Agnes and for themselves.
It was a magnificent
birthday party rarely seen – thrown by a Christian minister for a 39-year-old
prostitute who never experienced anyone going out of their way to do something
so special, while expecting absolutely nothing in return. Indeed, so surprising
was this turn of events that the café owner found it hard to believe that there
were churches that would actually do this sort of thing. “But if there are,” he
remarked, “then that is the sort of church I would be ready to join.”
There is no
life-giving efficacy in our religious pomp and pageantry. What the world needs
now is LOVE. Neither our church edifices, nor our religious rites, nor our
ecclesiastical robes and rings will draw men, women and children to the cross
of Calvary. There is one simple ingredient in evangelical success; it is the
'secret recipe' of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: “By this all will know
that you are My disciples, if you have LOVE for one another.” (John 13:35)
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