A Voice in the Wilderness

This past Sunday, my child and I drove down to Portland, Oregon to meet my husband at the finish line of the Seattle to Portland ride. John, along with over 9,000 other riders, was a real trooper having ridden 206 miles in 2 days.

The finish line, as you may suspect, was a buzz of activity. The riders finished at Holladay park which was decorated with tents of foods, beverages, t-shirts and other items for sale, water, music and more. My 3 year-old was having quite a time bee bopping around the park (she was like a pin-ball bouncing around the inside of pin-ball machine).

At one point we made our way to the end of the park where the trolley line comes in. There were people getting off trains and others waiting to get on. And in the midst of that activity stood a tall, slender, African-American woman with a podium and Bible. She wasn't preaching hell, fire and damnation, but instead was reading from the Psalms.

I passed a couple of men sitting just behind her who were explicitly talking about how drunk they had gotten the night before...I was so busy chasing my little pin-ball that I couldn't stop and talk...and there were hordes of people doing the same thing.

I have been thinking about that scene for the last few days, wondering if what that woman was doing constitutes a true proclamation of the Word. When we think on evangelism and spreading God's Word, is that what we are supposed to do--preach to hordes of people who barely notice and barely care?

If evangelism is measured by faithfulness, then that woman was certainly successful. I think it must have taken a great deal of faith and courage to stand there and read her Bible. But I also wonder about the measure of fruitfulness--should evangelism produce some tangible, visible end result? Should the Word be presented in such a way that people take notice--that people are affected and maybe changed?

Maybe the success of evangelism lies somewhere in between faith and fruit =). In faithfulness we do what we can and pray for God to provide the fruitful harvest.

Journey on...