When Henry Ford started making the Model T, he ran into a challenge while he was manufacturing the famous car. Since the Model T had many wooden parts, like steering-wheels and side-panels, a lot of scrap lumber & saw dust accumulated around the Ford factory. The question was, how to effectively dispose of the waste.
Henry Ford, being a sharp businessman, didn’t fret over this wooden waste-product for long. He thought of a way to turn the accumulated rubbish into a profit. He started Ford Charcoal. In the 1970’s a small company bought out the Ford Charcoal line, maybe you have heard of them... Kingsford Charcoal?
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard this preached or taught, but I believe this is true: The goal of our faith is transformation (Becoming more like Christ), and a byproduct (like charcoal) of the authentic Christian faith is evangelism. Evangelism should be a priority, yes. But, evangelism isn't more significant than worshiping the God we love and serve. It isn't more important than prayer, or fasting, or a host of other manifestations of our faith.
When to comes to evangelism then, the healthy perspective becomes one where we see evangelism as a byproduct of actually living out our faith. If we are faithful, we are equipped, and we are acting on what we believe, then we will all naturally be evangelistic. Or as a good friend pointed out this morning, while I preached on this, "It's like a side-effect"
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
(Psalm 34:8 ESV)
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