Here is a devotional from A.W. Tozer, may it stir our minds to think biblically and walk as Christ walked in the incarnation as we preach Christ and Him crucified.
In our eagerness to make converts, I am afraid we have been guilty of using the techniques of modern salesmanship--which is of course to present only the desirable qualities in a product, and ignore the rest. We go to men and offer them a cozy home on the sunny side of the hill. If they will but accept Christ--then He will . . .
give them peace of mind,
solve their problems,
prosper their business,
protect their families and
keep them happy all day long.
They believe us and come--and the first cold wind sends them shivering to some counselor to find out what has gone wrong; and that is the last we hear of many of them.
The teachings of Christ reveal Him to be a realist in the finest meaning of that word. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find Him making over-optimistic promises. He told His hearers the whole truth, and let them make up their minds. He never ran after the retreating form of an inquirer who could not face up to the truth--to try to win him with rosy promises.
He would have men follow Him, knowing the cost--or He would let them go their ways.
All this is but to say that Christ is honest. We can trust Him. He knows that He will never be popular among the lost world--and He knows that His followers need not expect to be. The wind that blows in His face will be felt by all who travel with Him, and we are not intellectually honest when we try to hide that fact from others.
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