Will the real Salvationist please stand up
by
Commissioner Wesley Harris
IT IS said that if we don’t believe in something we’ll fall
for anything and that may be a real danger in contemporary
society. As Salvationists we should be defined not only by the
name of the movement to which we belong but by the godly life
we live. What we believe should be made visible, audible and
credible.
Early day Salvationists were notable and noticeable because of
their strong convictions. They were a passionate people. They
were out to win the world for Jesus. Some would have regarded
them as extreme but what they achieved under God was amazing.
T.R.Glover said that Marcus Aurelius didn’t believe enough to
be great and his assessment might be debatable. But there is
no doubt that to be great and to do a great work Salvationists
need to be people of strong convictions ready to stand up and
be counted.
St Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel”(Romans 1.16)
and like him we should believe that although we may not be
able to change human nature God can and will. William Booth
said, “We are a salvation people”. That is what salvationism
is all about.
Sometimes standing up for we believe will mean being ‘counter
cultural’, and swimming against the tide of popular opinion. I
recall a time and a situation when I was ‘odd man out ‘and
something of a wowser on account of being a non-smoker. Now
medical science has proved the rightness of the stand that was
taken.
There may well be a similar turn of the tide with respect to
alcohol as the problems of binge drinking, violence and road
toll linked to strong drink are focussed. But in any case we
should stand as witnesses to the fact that ‘dutch courage’ is
not necessary in order to cope with life’s challenges. The
grace of God is sufficient!
The lines of an old hymn should still challenge us today.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the Cross…
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