A Far Green Country

I remember seeing Christopher Reeve, after suffering near-total paralysis, in a public service announcement on television. The camera zoomed in on his face as he talked to parents about raising children. After acknowledging the role of faith in his life, he encouraged parents to talk to their children about faith. I must say that I have nothing but admiration for Christopher and Dana Reeve. The message of that ad, though, was a bit troubling to me. As I perceived the message, it was almost as if we were being encouraged simply to have faith in faith, or to exercise the power of positive thinking in order to make our way through life.

Such a message is consistent with the shift, even among many evangelicals I fear, from talking about the necessity of faith in Jesus, to talking about faith in God, to talking about simply having faith, whatever or whomever the object of that faith might be.

I am also aware that, often, we have but a short window of opportunity in which to share the gospel. In those moments, we should be ready to provide a quick and accurate message. But, always, whether in a few short minutes or over the period of a lengthy relationship, our goal should be to share as much about Jesus as we can.

I acknowledge that this [post] has much to do with theology. But, then, missions at its foundation is theological and concerned with doctrine, or truth.


- Dr. George Martin