Danger Down Under- Evangelism in Australia from an American’s Perspective
The following post is written by our frequent guest author, missionary Sarah Bruce.
You’re Completely Alone
You’re completely alone. No danger—right? Everything is slow. Western Australia— “wait awhile…” The light is blinding; the ocean waves are rolling in with an incredible sound. You look to the right and to the left. No one can be seen. The desert is off into the distance. The economy is fine; the shops in the city are thriving; the food is healthy and fresh. Each building is built with precision and care; every bird sings a different song and looks unique from all the others; everywhere you look the pace is slow and unconcerned and no one bothers to even lock their cars… It’s peacetime. Why hurry? Why think there’s any urgency in the world? Why bother to think very deeply about anything?
You see a few people off in the distance sipping their chamomile tea. They are having a fine old time! Why bother them? They seem like they’re doing alright! They’re comfortable. They don’t see themselves in any danger. Why would there be any reason to worry? “She’ll be right, mate…” “Everything is fine.” No reason to panic, no reason to consider things other than what’s in the moment, no reason not to take some extra time to just relax. The people slowly get closer and closer. They are together but they aren’t talking to each other. Why break the beautiful silence? Why risk the drama of having a conversation when everything seems alright without it?
They’re passing you. This is your chance. You smile at them. They seem nice enough, but they don’t say anything. They aren’t going to make this easy. You consider giving them something, but why even bother? They’re probably just going to reject it. You’re comfortable enough by yourself. The sun is warm and in a perfect position for comfort. If you move too much, you might get the sun in your eyes, because it’s very bright. On top of that, is there really a need here? Nothing seems like it’s in danger. Yeah, there might be a snake or two in the bushes or a spider in someone’s driveway, but you can pretty much avoid that, even here in the country. From the crispy clotheslines to the homemade bread to the lovely chirping birds to the brilliant colours that emerge from the glare of the sun on the ocean—could this place really be in need? Things seem so nice, almost heavenly—so why would anyone think that they have any need for anything but more of what they already have?
Of course, nothing is perfect, but who cares? Who cares what happens after someone dies? Who cares if you’ve done some bad things? Who cares if you just live for yourself? You’ve done a lot of good in your life, right? You sure don’t think that there’s any reason to be religious. Isn’t religion for people who need something? You figure it’s no use bothering people who have no perceived need for anything other than living a good life. Some live for surfing, some for a nice, healthy, small-town experience, some work hard in mines and other fly in/fly out work to be able to rest and relax the rest of the time—and that’s how they like it. Lying? No big deal. Stealing? Not a big deal either—after all, this country was built by convicts, right? What’s it like in the middle of Australia? Kilometres of nothingness. There can’t be too much to this world, right? Wait—where did those people go? Oh, they left a while ago while you were thinking…and they didn’t even say hi…
Danger In America
Everything is so fast that you can’t even think. Fast-paced Los Angeles could never be busier. It is the scene of a movie—a popular, extravagant, horror movie. In celebration of the premiere, hundreds of thousands of people line the streets of the city with tarot card readers, psychics, and flamboyant, energetic buskers who scream the most ridiculous things at the top of their lungs while wearing the most amusing things you could think of just to get your attention. Souls are everywhere. They are running, hastily walking, and darting this way and that—ceaselessly rushing towards nothing in particular.
The economy is failing, you notice as you see independent stores fighting for their own self-sufficiency. However, fast food chains are thriving! You watch as busy bodies shove entire burgers down their throats with one hand with their radios blaring, dodging out-of-control cars on the freeway while talking to their significant others on their nearly battery-dead devices. Buildings are thrown up without too much forethought; lost, confused seagulls scamper around looking for a remaining greasy fry that someone left behind to try to survive another day; businessmen press the lock button on their cars fifty times in a row while gulping their coffee in their other hand and sweating from the stress of the day. When would the economy crash? How soon would another political psychopath ruin everything? Who would be the next major leader to shape religion and politics? What if you didn’t want to think about it? Well, I guess it’s kind of impossible to ignore.
Nothing is comfortable, unless you consider darkness comfortable. You’re not sure what to do, but you figure that something is better than nothing. The sky is black, without any stars; the only light is dim and shady— undistinguishable noise is everywhere. Why so much ruckus? No one was really sure. Everyone just knew enough to think that they’re important if they found themself doing something. A remote taste of the air felt exhilarating—but at the same time—less distantly you feel doom and destruction evidenced by the amount of people doing whatever they wanted.
Cars pretend to follow traffic laws but instead speedlike there is no tomorrow—as if in a hurry to die. People seemed relatively safe around the light, but no one with any common decency would want to even mention the deeds done in the darkness of the alleys. You’re standing in the middle of all of it. You’re avoiding renegade cars, trying to not look at anyone that looks dangerous in the wrong way, and fighting to keep your possessions from the money-hungry, fast-paced con-artists who lived to “accidentally” bump you and take your wallet. The crowds are getting closer and closer. You know you have to do something and you will feel horrible if you do nothing. The contrast is as clear as could be. You brace yourself and reach into your pocket and extend your arm out to offer something and it’s as if everything has stopped for a moment—but just for a quick moment.
Suddenly, buskers dark, con-artist tricks don’t seem as demanding, psychics calling on evil spirits (demons) suddenly have to break their channelingpractice and shudder, tarot card readers have sudden, temporary vision loss as they must face what you’re putting in front of them. Light is shining in the darkness—and the darkness cannot overcome. What seemed so influential and controlling now paled in comparison to what was now going on. Instead of being ignored, you’re being spit at. People are cursing you. You are being mocked and made fun of—but something about it doesn’t crush you. People are paying attention to you. They are angry with you, but it doesn’t get to you, because you know what’s going on. The darkness hates the light, but at least there is conviction going on, because these people know that they are in danger. They know that it isn’t peacetime. They know that something is terribly wrong with this world. They know that they could die at any minute. There is a real need, and there is a real desire for something other than the mess that they created. Even though they suppress it, they know that lying and stealing is wrong. They know that they are worshipping idols and that they need to turn from what they’re doing. They know enough to see that they need something to keep them from sudden destruction, but they look for it in the wrong places.
What happens after someone dies? Oh, you think, I’m probably good enough for Heaven. You haven’t killed anyone…like that crazy guy over there. You’re a successful businessman. Okay, you don’t know what’s going to happen when you die. Well… maybe you will just go in the dirt, but maybe you’ll be okay. Wait. You could die right now. No, you don’t want this light. You know you’d have to radically give up everything. Why would you want to do that? You don’t want to consider this any further…[you hear a scream off into the distance]…okay, maybe you’ll consider it? What is the real danger? There is a real battle going on—no matter where you are. That means that, if you place your faith in Christ, meaning that you turn from your sin (as defined above) and pass from darkness to the light, then you aren’t in the danger of eternal Hell. The darkness may be dark around you, but you don’t have to fear death, because Jesus died and rose again to bring lost souls to repentance and faith in Him.
So, maybe you don’t see any danger and aren’t scared of anything (like life in the peaceful Australian outback), or you see that your life is a vapor and you rightly understand that you’re in a war (because of the chaotic city-life in America) and you know your life could be taken from you at any moment. Here’s the key: the spiritual reality is the same in both places. Whether you have no perceived need for the Gospel or not, your life could be taken from you at any moment, even in the gentle, serene environment of Australia.
The danger is the same with evangelism. When you live in a world that seems completely tranquil and calm, it makes sense for you to forget the disturbing truth—that sinners are sinking into Hell while we sit on the beach and forget all our troubles. The same sinners that are heading for Hell in America are heading there in Australia as well. It’s the same reality. 150,000 people die per day. That’s over 100 people for every minute spent mindlessly soaking in the sun. That’s 2 souls per second that are standing before God and giving an account for everything they have even done, spoken, and thought.
“Wait awhile…” I’m here waiting… while 4 souls enter into eternity.
“She’ll be right, mate…” I’m here thinking everything is alright… ignoring the 8 souls that just died.
“Everything’s fine…” Oh, everything’s fine? Okay, maybe I’ll just ignore those 12 souls and stare off beyond the brilliant sunlight at a lovely landscape for a minute and remain unmoved by the fact that 100 souls just plunged themselves into eternity.
Is it wrong to stop and smell the roses? Well, what is eternity for? And what are we here for? There is work to be done here—piercing the darkness with the Gospel. Why throw away a life enjoying a light that’s less than Heaven when you will soon experience the real thing? The darkness is real and ever present, no matter where you are, but the light is stronger, and has already won, so go share the truth before it’s too late.