It is true that those British soldiers were rescued by a flotilla of little, privately-owned boats, but the nation was now threatened with a German invasion, and ill equipped to repel it. Winston Churchill was then Prime Minister of England, and had he come across with a miserable, pessimistic message, all might have truly been lost. He did not do that. Rather, he said, with a firm and courageous voice, “We will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them in the streets, we will never surrender.” Churchill stirring, inspiring, motivating message gave encouragement and hope to a nation on its knees, and brought them forward to final victory.
In the days of the church’s infancy, despite remarkable growth, there was much reason to expect despondency and even pessimism. On numerous occasions the apostles were imprisoned (Acts 5:18), Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 7), James was beheaded (Acts 12:2), the Jerusalem church was scattered abroad, leaving only the apostles there to begin all over again (Acts 8:1).
But pessimism and despondency did not prevail. Though Christians were scattered far and wide, they, with amazing courage, went everywhere preaching the Gospel (Acts 8:4). Amongst all this persecution, Paul and Barnabas set off on their missionary journey (Acts 13). What a positive, optimistic, courageous attitude in the face of enormous opposition! Later, the apostle Paul writes with great conviction, One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13, 14).
Allan E. Flaxman, a Gospel preacher in New South Wales, Australia, asks, “What should our attitude be in this 21st century? There is much to discourage us. The Lord’s church is showing serious signs of weakening. Far too often there appears to be an all-too-frail defense of the truth. How often, these days, do we hear the cry of “We speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent,” and “For us, the Bible alone is final and binding,” and “No book but the Bible, no creed but Christ,” and other such words of determination to stand firmly on the Will of God? Not nearly enough!”
Let’s take the courageous attitude of the infant church. We rub shoulders with the lost every day. May God give us the courage we need to mount a real effort to reach these lost with the Gospel message which alone can snatch them from the flames of Hell before it is forever too late.
One poem ends with this verse:
To fallen men, a dying race,
Make known the gift of Gospel grace.
The world that now in darkness lies,
O church of Christ, EVANGELIZE!