by David Smith

A visitor came to Green Avenue Baptist Church last Sunday.

Joe had been raised in a Christian home, but drifted away from the church in his teen years. He had seen a lot of Christians talking the talk, but very few walking the walk, so he concluded that "religion" was a bunch of baloney, and he decided to make his own way in the world.

As Joe grew older he discovered that his life, without God, was falling apart. His third marriage was in shambles; he was struggling with alcoholism; and lately he had been so depressed that he was contemplating suicide. He was at the end of his rope, searching for answers. He knew something had to change.

Someone in our congregation invited him to church last week, so he came here to visit. In the back of his mind, he was thinking, "God, I need to know if you are real. I need to know if you can help me."

Pastor Rockwood preached an impassioned sermon, and at the end of his message, he started giving an invitation. Joe was listening intently, desperate for something to give him hope. He wondered if God was real. Was He truly listening? Would He really take back this lost sheep?

In an auditorium filled with people who profess to know God Almighty, one might expect that there would be a reverent, prayerful silence while the preacher invited a lost sinner to step into eternal life by giving his heart to Jesus.

Aside from worshipping God, what activity could possibly have a higher priority in a Bible-believing church than introducing someone to the King of Kings?

But our visitor could not hear most of the invitation. People around him were gathering up papers, zipping up their Bibles, and generally rustling about in the pews, eager to be the first ones out the door so they could beat the rush to the parking lot. A few people even got up and walked out before the invitation was finished.

He was so distracted by all of this commotion that he stopped listening. As Joe looked around, the small demon assigned to discourage him leaned in close and whispered, "If the members here don't think this message is important enough to listen to, why should you?"

"Why should I listen to this?" Joe sadly asked himself. "Just like I thought, it's just a bunch of baloney."

So he left.

He even got to be the first one out of the parking lot.