Christian Living

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Sometimes called intestinal fortitude, guts is shorter, earthy and to the point. Today we need Christians—hundreds, thousands—with guts.

There is a great need for people who will take a public stand for God. There are too few, and the society we see around us is the result.

“Ah yes, but they must have a calling from God,” some say. Well, God will equip those who are available. Isaiah 6:8 says: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying ‘whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ “

BE AVAILABLE

Where are those who would rather spend half an hour handing out tracts than shopping for the latest bargain? People with guts are needed who will do something about their neighbour going to the lake of fire.

The Bible is full of gutsy people. Paul and Silas singing praises while in prison and with feet in stocks. Little David going out to fight Goliath, trusting in God. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saying in effect: “OK king, so what. Throw us into the fiery furnace if you must.” Those in Rome’s Colosseum who would rather die in the lions’ jaws than denounce Christ. Men who would give their lives for God.

TOO RISKY

Guts seems to be in short supply today. Even to wear a Christian badge, a tee-shirt, or to hand out tracts is too risky for many. It has become a faith of the faint-hearted. We are singing hymn number 007. It is a Secret Service gospel to be whispered and hidden.

Instead of a Bible verse, people put a fish symbol on their cars so that only Christians understand the meaning. Useless for unsaved people destined for hell. As Bing Crosby and William Bendix sang in duet so many years ago: “We’re busy doing nothing.”

We need people with the guts to talk about Jesus; believers with thick skins who know the real gospel is always going to offend, because it tells people the truth about themselves. Reading the New Testament we see Jesus and Paul didn’t always get a nice, receptive reaction when they preached it!

OPPOSITION

We must expect anger and abuse, because many people are driven by a spirit not of God and they react. This writer knows it to be true from experience in outreach.

The cults spell out their erroneous message clearly—and their satan-sent false prophets convey it as regularly as most of us eat hot dinners. We can learn from them in terms of diligence and urgency.

Thank God for those who do spread the gospel but more are needed. When it comes to guts in standing up for a cause, non-Christians have it. Anti-loggers lie beneath huge trucks and are willing to be dragged away and arrested. Misguided suicide bombers destroy themselves for what they believe. Nelson Mandela spent twenty years in a South African jail because he wouldn’t meekly give up the fight against apartheid. Guts.

GREAT MEN

Equality campaigner Martin Luther King probably knew a bullet would end his life. He died for a cause far greater than himself, and nothing can be nobler than that. People in America now enjoy the fruits of his courage.

Robert and John Kennedy were rich, but they also had guts: unafraid to speak out against evil and injustice. If they had lived a safe, mouse-like existence, afraid to offend anyone, they might not have been murdered. They may have lived longer—but for what?

WE’VE GOT IT!

Christians have a far greater truth to proclaim. How can such a vital message as we have remain locked within us? The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God didn’t give us a spirit of fear.

We have the good news of the Saviour; of sins forgiven for those who repent; of eternal life; heaven not hell. It’s time to show some guts and take the gospel to the community.

If we die in the process, guess what? We’ll be in heaven.

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