A jumbled mess of thoughts

So, as usual my thoughts are all over the place, so this might not make complete sense. :)

I think that Canada and America are some of the most difficult places to be a Christian. (Actually, you can include many more countries in the list but I'm not sure which ones would fit in this category.) The reason for this is that the majority of people who call themselves Christians are either nominal Christians, or lukewarm. Nominal Christians may believe in God but they have never surrendered their life to Christ. Lukewarm Christians may be growing, but ever so slowly. They have surrendered part of their life to Christ but not everything, and are "on the fence" between God and the World.

I believe that it is actually easier to be a Christian in places like Afghanistan or China because Christians are forced to make a stand for Christ. If they are a true Christian, they are going to get persecution. What we as Christians in North America sometimes call persecution is not persecution. It may be uncomfortable to be made fun of by a professor at school or to be thought of as backwards and stupid, but we are not even close to going through what many brothers and sisters across the world are going through. What is sad is that those who are made fun of are a select few. Because most Christians have not even made it known to others that they are saved.

Therefore, in countries hostile to Christianity there is practically no struggle against "comfortable" Christianity. It's either all or nothing. In North America we can settle into our homes and jobs, save money for retirement, and forget about the world dying in their sins around us. It is more of a struggle to be on fire for God than to sit back and watch our lives go by.

What a waste! So many of us (myself included) are wasting the lives given to us! We go to church on Sunday and may even help out in our churches but we are not doing anything to tell others about Christ! Maybe that's what this is about. Maybe my frustration is really about the lack of evangelism in my own life, and in the lives of most church-going people.

But wait! Why do so many "Christians" seem unworried about the lack of conviction; the lack of growth; the lack of love for the lost? Why are we not so full of overflowing love and gratitude for our Saviour that we can't wait to tell others about Him? Should evangelism really be a chore?

Maybe it is that we don't realize the full extent of out own sin. We don't realize what we have been saved from. We are full of pride and don't think that we really are "all that bad". So we don't love Christ like we should.

Wow. I've gone really off-topic. But this is all really bothering me right now. I'd like to be on-fire for God but am uncertain as to how to get there. I want an overflowing love for Christ, but do not know how to cultivate it in my life. I don't want to be governed by other people's thoughts; caring so much of what they may think of me if I do, or don't do something.

I think maybe that the answer may be found in burrowing myself in the Word of God. So maybe I will try to spend more time in His Word.