by Jason Nelson
My neighbor had a couple of fainting goats. They stood around in his yard chewing on stuff. When he first got them, they were pretty skittish. At the hint of danger their legs would lock, and they would drop overboard like a boat anchor. There they laid, disoriented and vulnerable. I thought about sneaking up on them just to watch them go down. But that wouldn’t be very neighborly. It does make one wonder what in their breeding made this response to a threat seem like a good idea. If they could talk, I imagine the conversation would go something like this:
“Hey, buddy, how did you get down here?”
“Well, I heard something scary, so I fainted.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Every day we wake to headlines that disturb us. We perceive trends that cause us concern. I don’t know what to do with all the ambiguities of being a Christian in a secular society. Tectonic shifts in our basic beliefs of right or wrong are occurring. We can feel it under our feet, and it makes us unsteady. It is the conundrum of being in the world but not of it. But I do know that the Holy Spirit didn’t call, gather, and enlighten a flock of fainting sheep.
The one holy, Christian, and apostolic church has never been a place for swooners. If the martyrs of old knew what I was thinking some days, they would shake their heads in disappointment. They didn’t have faith without opposition. Why would we expect it to be different? If they could coach us on facing it, I am sure they would say that isolating ourselves or excluding others isn’t the answer. That makes matters worse. Engage! It’s okay to talk to people you don’t agree with. It’s okay to like people you don’t agree with. God does it all the time. You can express your convictions respectfully. If martyrs of old were coaching us, I’m sure they would emphasize the essential task that a risen and ascending Savior gave a group of frightened people. “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19,20 MSG)
This is how Christians have always responded to the world. They give people a whiff of Jesus with their kindness and persuade them with God’s Word. Based on their experiences, martyrs of old would emphasize that no one will do it on our behalf. It is an intensely personal responsibility. This work cannot be outsourced to politicians, governments, courts, hired guns, or neighborhood watch groups. There is no way to follow Jesus at a safe distance. A lost soul cannot be embraced at arm’s length. Christianity spreads when the gospel bleeds from one person’s heart into another’s and that person comes to see that the Christian way of life is better than any other.
If martyrs of old saw hesitation in our eyes, I think they would say, “Faint not. Collapsing under stress will get you devoured. This isn’t over and you’re not alone. Stand firm alongside everyone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ.” And they would reassure us with the promise Jesus gave them: "I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20 MSG).