The True Grit of Evangelism
Last week, Holli and I went to see True Grit. I don't see many movies, but this is a
western so we went to see it. In summary, the movie is about a young lady enlisting the
services of crusty old U.S. Marshal Reuben Cogburn to help her find her father's killer.
In one of the final scenes of the movie, the girl falls into a pit and is bitten by a rattlesnake.
Reuben Cogburn gets into the pit and rescues her. When he gets her out of the pit, Cogburn
puts her on a horse and sets out riding as hard as he can go. They ride and ride until the horse
dies. Then, he takes the young lady and puts her in his arms and walks until he finds the cabin
where the doctor is. He is worn out from carrying the girl and is staggering from exhaustion. But
he got the girl to the doctor where she can receive appropriate medical care.
As I watched that scene, I thought how that is exactly how we must approach evangelism.
Let me explain.
The Bible says that everyone has sinned and the penalty for sin is death and hell. But, Jesus
died in order that our sin can be forgiven. We know these facts to be truth but we are very non-chalant
in sharing it. In recent years, research has revealed that we are not very effective in leading
unchurched people to believe in Jesus.
We are surrounded by people... people who are hurting and searching but we are not
winning many people to Christ. To reverse this trend we have to begin thinking more "outside
the box." I know this; we can't keep throwing stones at the world... that isn't working. The culture
may not be the best, but throwing stones at it isn't going to help us lead someone to faith in
Jesus.
I am asking the Lord to show me some innovative ways to reach people. We have the
greatest message man has ever known. And, man still needs a Savior. So, we have to have
the same persistence Reuben Cogburn had in getting the little girl to the Doctor. And, we have
to be willing to look at new things.. new methods to reach people for Christ because, based
on research that shows baptisms and church attendance declining, our existing methods
don't seem to be working too well. People are dying without Jesus while we try to figure it out.
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