"Reaching Out"

An artist, seeking to depict on canvas the meaning of evangelism, painted a storm at sea.  Black clouds filled the sky.  Illuminated by a flash of lightning, a little boat could be seen disintegrating under the pounding of the ocean.  Men were struggling in the swirling waters, their anguished faces crying out for help.  The ONLY glimmer of hope appeared in the foreground of the painting, where a large rock protruded out of the water.  There, desperately clutching to the rock with both hands, was one lone seaman.

It was a moving scene!  Looking at the painting, one could see in the tempest a symbol of mankind's hopeless condition.  And, true to the Gospel, the ONLY hope of salvation was "the Rock of Ages", a shelter in the time of storm.

But as the artist reflected upon his work, he realized that the painting did NOT accurately portray his subject.  So he discarded the canvas, and painted another.  
It was very similar to the first - the black clouds, the flashing lightning, the angry waters, the little boat crushed by the pounding waves, and the crew vainly struggling 
in the water.  In the foreground the seaman could again be seen clutching the large rock for salvation.  But the artist had made one change: THIS time, the survivor is seen holding onto the rock with only ONE hand, and with the OTHER hand he is reaching down to pull up a drowning friend.

THAT is the New Testament picture of evangelism -- that hand reaching down to rescue the perishing.  Until that hand is extended, there is NO Gospel -- AND there is NO Hope for the world (adapted from Robert E. Coleman, in "The Heartbeat of Evangelism").

Dear reader, we encourage you to do TWO things:

1)  Cling to the Rock. The Rock which provides salvation from SIN is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).  Cling to Him by trusting Him (Acts 16:30-31), repenting of your sins (Acts 17:30-31), confess His name (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38).  CONTINUE to cling to Him through your grateful obedience to His will (Matthew 7:21).  Have YOU obeyed the gospel? (click here)

2)  Reach Out to Others. This, as the artist so effectively depicted, is the essence of evangelism (teaching others about Christ and the salvation that is found in Him).  
God has called His people to REACH OUT to others with the saving message  
– the Gospel – of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).  We encourage you to use the 
“Living Water” publication to reach out to your friends and neighbors with the saving message of Christ.

"The LORD lives! Blessed be the Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted" 
(Psalms 18:46).

Let us REACH UP with our faith - and then REACH OUT with love to our fellow man!

God bless you!  

David A. Sargent, Minister 

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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