You Never Mentioned Him to Me...

    When in the better land before the bar we stand,

How deeply grieved our souls will be;

If any lost one there should cry in deep despair,

"You never mentioned Him to me."

 You never mentioned Him to me,

You helped me not the way to see;

You met me day by day and knew I was astray,

Yet never mentioned Him to me."

O let us spread the word _ where e'er it may be heard,

Help groping souls the light to see,

That yonder none may say, "You showed me not the way."

You never mentioned Him to me. 

 You never mentioned Him to me,

You helped me not the way to see;

You met me day by day and knew I was astray,

Yet never mentioned Him to me."

A few sweet words may guide a lost one to His side,

Or turn sad eyes on Calvary;

So work as days go by, that yonder none may cry,

"You never mentioned Him to me." 

     You never mentioned Him to me,

You helped me not the way to see;

You met me day by day and knew I was astray,

Yet never mentioned Him to me."

   

     I remember clearly the first time I heard and understood these words from that old hymn. I was sitting in Sunday morning worship, staring through tear blurred eyes at the chilling words. Reality sinking in of how many souls I knew, of whom I'd never engaged in deep Biblical discussions.

     Yet, over the years, the words were memorized. Slowly they started losing the meaning they once had to me, I'd recite it and not think of it at all. It's so common, to just forget all the meaning of the sweet hymns we sing every time the saints assemble. Why? I mean we have come to know the greatest gift God has ever given us, His Son, so why aren't we shouting His story from the roof tops?

      Is it maybe because we become too comfortable where we are? Do we get in the checklist mindset, where "I study which is good. Check." "I don't do this sin. Check." "Went to services Sunday. Check."
Are we forgetting some very important words Christ told us in Matthew 25:31-46:
        “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’  Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (NKJV)

And in Matthew 16:15, which is just as important to couple with good works.

     "And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (NKJV)

    The problem with the checklist method, is that it's very core is centered on YOU. Not God, not others, you. Don't get me wrong studying, praying, and meeting up with fellow Christians are very important, but if your heart isn't in the right place then it does no good.

    If your heart is in it (I struggle with this) you will want to mention Christ to others, you will want to spread His truth, and you will want to reach out to others. Yes it is scary, yes it's uncomfortable, yes there will be rejection or hard feelings, but Christ never said it was easy: 

        "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12, NKJV)

   In this age in America, we don't have quite the severity of persecution that those before us had, I know words still hurt (I've been a self-conscious introvert most my life who has been lashed out at by people who don't agree with the truth) it is discouraging, BUT just think of how much worse it could be! Think of how God is so pleased when you stand up for Him in a crowded room! Think of the souls you could impact with God's Words! Think of how many people could say to you on Judgement Day:

"I'm so glad you mentioned Him to me,

That you helped me all the way to see; You met with me, day by day, 'cause you knew I was astray,

Thank you, for having mentioned Him to me."