more fire

Two years ago, in the thralls of my renewed zeal for God, I stepped into a subway car on the G train in Brooklyn and cried:

“O, sick and perverse city of idolaters and blasphemers, repent and ask God for forgiveness. Woman, you let a man touch you and deceive you and you aren’t married. Man, you lust after a woman and she is not yours.

Some riders were startled, many averted their eyes and others gave me a who-are-you-to-judge-me glare. Some eventually softened their stares and a couple even looked up to see who might be so brazen as to call them to repentance. I continued:

Repent! You are proud and want more and when you get it you still are not satisfied. You measure yourself according to the world’s standards. You fashion god in your own image to justify your lifestyle. Repent and allow the real and living God to impress his image in you. Repent and confess Christ as Lord and be made new.”

At each stop I went to the next car until I had evangelized the length of the train. I exited the subway at the Carrol Street stop and wandered the neighborhood praying. I wrote down the message I had shared on the train (I’m a writer and can’t help but journal) and as I walked passed a storefront window I saw a Bible propped in the display case and read the page of Isaiah it was opened to. The verse strengthened my conviction to proclaim the truth of the Kingdom.

“For a long time I have held my peace; I have been still and restrained myself: now I cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.” Isaiah 42:14.

Some might consider the terms “idolater” and “blasphemer” to be archaic, but they are as apt today as they ever were. People have always made idols in their own image. Even today people attempt to make God in their image because they do not want to make the effort to live according to the holy standard established by God. Idolaters prefer to live according to their own standards. They adamantly rebel against the holiness and righteousness of God in order to continue to eat the bitter herbs of iniquity and self-righteousness.

And still, in a merciful and just way, God continues to redeem a corrupted cosmos. His Son’s blood still flows so that broken, hurting people might drink his wine and eat his bread and be made whole. The crucified Messiah delivers true to his Word in this and every age. Exchange the bitterness for sweetness. Repent and be redeemed. Have faith in the Deliverer and be holy.

Related posts on evangelism:

• Rastafarians
• Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Lubavitch Jews