steph's blog

a question: to what extent do my faithful readers believe christians are responsible for the salvation of other people?

i ask because i've always been an advocate of the old adage that "they will know you are christian by your love", or, in other words, you don't need to be outspoken about your faith, the best witness you can be is through your actions and your unconditional, christlike love for other people. but i'm beginning to wonder, is that enough?

today i was fortunate enough to see "cliff", a middle-aged christian man who comes on campus, standing in the firing line to answer questions about christianity from college students in the west mall. i greatly admire this man's bravery and loved listening to him talk, the way he didn't become defensive or offensive but rather was polite and very calm. what caught my attention more than anything, though, was not cliff or his message, but the booths of activist agnostic/atheist groups surrounding the space in which he was speaking. and behind one of those booths i saw a long-time friend of mine who i've known since i was three years old. it's really gotten to me, i guess, because i've had so many chances to reach out to this person, to show him the love of Christ, and i've only tried a few times, if that many. and now here he is, not only an atheist/agnostic but convincing other people to join him by refuting everything christians believe in and stand for. have i failed, lord? should i have tried harder? it just makes me wonder, i had no clue this would set off such a chain of events, that my failure to show a brother of mine the love of Christ results in not just him but numerous people straying from God's love. i feel a little inadequate, a little useless right now, i must confess.... i mean, if god can't use me in this life, who can?