I am reading a book called Evangelism in the Early Church, and Michael Green makes a great observation about the passion of the early Christians which I think we should pay heed to:
“One of the most notable impressions the literature of the first and second century made upon me as I wrote this book was the sheer passion of these early Christians. They were passionately conviced of the truth of the gospel. They were persuaded that en and women were lost without it. They shared in God’s own love, poured out on a needy world. THey paid heed to Christ’s Great Commission.
Christianity for them was no hour’s slot on a Sunday. It affected everything they did and everyone they met. Their church life was warm and nourishing, for the most part, and equipped people to move out with the good news. The ordinary Christians, the missionaries, the academics, the women, all seem to have shared in this same passionate commitment to the cause.
But without it how will anyone in our jaded society be moved? They may be pardoned for reflecting. ‘These people are Christians, are they? Very nice for them, if they like that sort of thing. But it has nothing to offer me.’ Not until we burn with a passion, which is almost a pain, to reach people with the gospel, will they be likely to take the matter seriously.”
