holy anguish.

I listened to “Holy Anguish” – a message Francis Chan gave a little bit ago. First off, download it on itunes and listen. Like…really. Do it now. My summary of it will not do it justice.

What kinds of things do you feel deep sorrow over? Loss of a loved one. Loss of a job. Tragedy in friend’s lives. The Broncos going 6-0 this year and then losing to Baltimore…  (I had to throw that in there…I’m sorry…those who know me know I can’t be too serious for any extended length of time.)

No, but really – how often do you really feel deep sorrow over something?

"With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them." Romans 9:1-3 (NLT)

What did Paul anguish over? He didn’t anguish over his own personal struggles (thrown in jail numerous times, beaten, persecuted in so many more ways than we ever are). He anguished over those who didn’t know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

He anguished over the lost.

Ahhhh. Seriously? When is the last time I really anguished over people going to Hell? It’s been awhile. I’ve gone through spurts where I was very much aware of this tragedy at hand, but I had lost the sense of urgency.
Supposedly there’s an actor or comedian or someone on youtube who talks about his encounter with an evangelist and even though he was an atheist, he said how he respected the evangelist for…I can’t remember what – again, I haven’t seen the video. But he says, in regards to all the other Christians who don’t share the Gospel with others, “How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them about hell?”

Ouch.

Think about it. If you are a follower of Christ, you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ and realize your need for a perfect Lamb’s blood to be the ultimate sacrifice to satisfy a perfect and just God. And you know that you will spend eternal life in Heaven…in Paradise…because you believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And you know that those who do not believe and choose to go their own way will spend eternity in Hell, absolutely alone and in utter turmoil that we cannot even imagine.
Why are we (yes, we) not anguishing over this fact?!
Francis Chan goes on to tell about a reoccurring dream a friend of his keeps having. This guy used to play basketball for the Lakers. In his dream, his fellow teammates, who he had spent years playing basketball with day in and day out, are in hell and he’s not. And they look at him with this look on their face that says “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS?! You didn’t say anything because you wanted me to like you?!”

Too often I don’t share the saving message of Jesus Christ with others because I don’t know how they’ll react. I’m afraid they won’t believe it. I’m afraid they’ll ask questions I don’t have answers to. I’m afraid I’ll drive a wedge between us.
What a stupid list of reasons. People I see every day are going to Hell and I don’t share with them the beautiful truth that God has provided a means of justification that is in no way something I can earn but is instead a free gift to everyone who just believes.

Pathetic.

May I…may you…may we be overwhelmed with awareness to this Truth. May the sense of urgency greatly increase.

If you didn’t listen to the podcast yet, go do it.