Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Ornamental Pear Trees and Christians

I saw the term "evangelical Christian" the other day. Oh, I know, it's nothing new. A web site was talking about a former child star and said she is now an evangelical Christian. (The reference was to Candace Cameron from "Full House".)
I understand this -- it means she is serious about her faith and actively witnessing to those who will listen. But what bugs me is that "evangelical" is considered a subset of Christianity. There are Christians -- and that's most everyone in America -- and then there are evangelical Christians who are really serious about their faith. They are reviled by some, respected by others, and a major voting block.
I contend that the term Evangelical Christian is redundant. How can a person be a Christian and not be an evangelist? I don't think he can. I have a pear tree in my yard and it cannot help but make pears. That's simply what it does. No organism can survive if it does not reproduce itself and the church is a living organism that must replicate itself in the same way. Pear trees make pears and Christians make Christians.
I guess the problem is that we also have a Cleveland Pear Tree. It's strictly ornamental. It's pretty in the spring and fall, but makes no pears. But this is due to genetic manipulation, it's not a real pear tree. If it were it would make pears.
The world has grown accustomed to ornamental Christians and thinks it's something special when someone is the real thing. A real Christian cannot help but witness to those in his circle of influence. The Spirit living within us makes sure of this. A real Christian is an evangelical Christian.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love that illustration and especially the picture! It seems we are increasingly a "label society" (uh-oh! I just labeled us a "label society"!).