I was fascinated by this video from Penn of Penn & Teller fame. Not familiar with them? They’re a comic/magic duo that have been touring for over 30 years, a career that now includes television shows and movies. Penn claims to be an atheist, and often his comic material is a mockery of Christian faith.

Penn is quite the talker. He’s never stumped. Never at a loss for words.

That’s what makes this video so fascinating.

This time it seems he is.

Did you hear it? A guy who is flat out resistant to God and defiant in his resistance asks a huge question: “how much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell someone about it?”

Wow.

Ouch.

His response deeply challenges me. As a person who loves Jesus, I want to be more bold and more knowledgeable in my faith – I want to engage more.

YET, I don’t want to be a jerk about it. No one responds to that.

That’s why Jesus told his followers to “be as wise as a snake, and as harmless as a dove” (Matthew 10:15-16).

It seems to me that too often:
(a) we skip over one of those directives, entering the arena with a lack of wisdom or a lack of grace, or
(b) we choose to not engage at all.

Neither of those are an option in Jesus’ mind. And neither of them should be an option to us.

Am I too afraid of being politically correct that I don’t tell others that a truck is barreling down on them, or bigger yet – that eternal life IS possible?

Do I care for people enough to not only tell them, but to tell them in a way that communicates grace and love?

Am I relying too much on showing my faith and not verbalizing my faith?

Why does an atheist guy understand this better than many Christians?

Fear is not a choice. Arrogance is not a choice.

Love demands action. Love demands words.

Love demands graceful, intelligent engagement.