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"He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord."
Psalm 33:5
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Christmas Parade
Christmas Parade
With Christmas just around the corner, the season's festivities are in full swing. People are running around trying to find the best Christmas gift. To have to best Christmas decorations. And to have the best food on Christmas day.Luckily for us, all of these usually lead to a lot of unsaved people gathering together for extended periods of time in public. One way this is done is in Christmas parades.
This past weekend was our local Christmas parade. Hundreds of people were expected to line the streets of our local town to watch a variety of cars drive down the street. The best part? People in the cars would be wildly throwing candy in every direction.
That morning, my dad and I loaded up with tracts, warm clothes, and prayer, and then headed out to the parade. We decided the best way to get out the tracts would be to walk with the parade, so we did. We started where all of the floats were being kept, waited, and then as soon as they started moving, we started handing out tracts.
Hundreds of people lined the streets. Within about an hour and a half, my dad and I were able to distribute about 650 tracts, simply by saying, "Merry Christmas!" And holding a tract towards the person. Out of the hundreds handed out, I personally had two people reject the tract. Praise God that those present were so willing to take the gospel tracts!
God also provided me with the opportunity to have a couple of conversations with people about Jesus Christ. One young man I talked to, Ian, was a 14 year old atheist who didn't believe in God simply because, "He had never really thought about it." After talking with him for about 10 minutes, he was telling me he had to put his trust in Christ, and that the gospel was without a doubt the only way he could be saved from his sins! Can you see how how awesome God was in revealing Himself to this young man? He began as an atheist, and ended saying he needed the blood stained cross to forgive his sins. Please pray for Ian, as well as the hundreds of others who received the gospel that day.
Since we live in a fairly small town, my dad and I both saw people watching the parade we knew to be Christians. Let's think about that for a moment. We are living in a day and age that is so politically correct the media refuses to say, "Merry Christmas." But instead says, "Happy holidays!" During this season, lost people are throwing a huge party, and having a parade, hardly any of which glorifies Jesus Christ (I think I did see one float with a nativity scene). Isn't that interesting? Christmas is the holiday that celebrates the birth of our Savior, lost people are throwing a party over the holiday, not Jesus Christ, and Christians show up just to watch?
I am not saying it is wrong to watch a parade. But, what is the point of showing up, watching the parade, getting candy, and then leaving without sharing with somebody the true meaning of Christmas? Romans 10:14-15 says, "How then will they call on Him in whom they have have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?"
Are you preaching, Christian? How will young men, like Ian, ever hear the gospel if Christians simply sit in the crowd, and watch the parade, instead of stepping out of their comfort zones and share the gospel? Next time you go to a parade, feel free to enjoy the festivities. But do not forget, while you are there, hundreds of lost people are standing around you. What are you going to do about it?