Flurries

The weatherman has been telling us snow was coming. It was supposed to come Tuesday night, snow all day Wednesday and today. So far, all we have seen is a few flurries. I stood at my kitchen sink doing dishes and wishing it would either really snow or stop and let the sun shine. Flurries are pretty, all white and fluttery, but they are not very productive. They provide very little moisture for our spring crops. They don't add to the enjoyment of downhill skiers or line the coffers of the resort owners. They don't provide snowman or snowangel making fun for children. You can't go sledding or have a snowball fight with flurries. They are by definition light and brief. They truly have very little impact on us.
I think sometimes we practice "flurry evangelism". We go about our daily lives, working with lost folks, standing by them in the line at K-Mart, dining next to them in restaurants, sharing a row with them in theaters, flying alongside them in airplanes and every once in awhile, we make a "light and brief" attempt to evangelize them. We ask the supermarket manager if we can put up a flyer for our upcoming gospel meeting. We invite our neighbor to ladies day as we are fastening the car seats in our mini-vans. In restaurants, we pray ever so quietly so we don't "disturb" other diners and ever so quickly so we can fulfill our obligation before the waitress brings our food. We invite our neighbor kids to a three day VBS, once a year. We subtly let our co-workers know we have an upcoming marriage seminar at church and so we will be leaving early on Friday. We practice flurry evangelism and wonder why no one ever comes to know Jesus.
I believe it is important that we live lives that say everyday that we are different, that we belong to God, that we are Christians. But, evangelism is part of living. You've heard the old adage "Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk." Notice it doesn't say don't talk the talk. The Great Commission is about "Going, TEACHING, and making disciples." If we look at Jesus, the apostles and the disciples, their ministry is about telling. When Jesus healed the demoniac, He instructed him to "go tell what the Lord has done for you." Do you think he ever stopped talking about it? Do you think he ever forgot his time in the graveyard? Maybe we practice flurry evangelism because we have forgotten we were once dead and now we are alive. Because we are saved, our very lives, our words, our evangelistic efforts have to be more than light and brief and light and fluttery. While we don't need to be a blizzard that only cripples others and makes them miserable, we can be that snowstorm that brings with it moisture and beauty and new life in the Spring.

Neva
Revelation 3:15 "I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other."