Evangelism: The God of Numbers
I always find it curious if I go to a church that keeps close track of its numbers. It seems that numbers are all that matter: that attracting a crowd is the ultimate goal of the building, and of the people. Conversions are secondary, and righteousness is side-stepped. It seems as if the most important thing, the most sought after thing, is numbers—and preferably large ones.
Well, what does the Bible have to say about this? Well, it turns out that the Lord is a God of numbers, but just not in the way that we commonly think:
“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” -Matthew 13:23
Look at all those numbers, and best of all they’re big! Here’s another one:
“Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. . . . and that night they caught nothing. . . . [Then Jesus saith unto them] Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. . . . Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.” -John 21:3, 5-6, 11
There’s another big number: 153 fishes in the net. Certainly such a large harvest was from the Lord. But did you notice something else?
Peter started off catching nothing. He started small, and it wasn’t until the Lord came to Him, in His own timing, that Peter received the blessing. And with the example of fruit-bearing above: have you ever known an apple tree to produce giant apples in its very first year of being planted? It takes time, and attention, and the proper care, and in due time, with God’s guidance and blessing, fruitfulness is realized in an abundant way.
With all of these big numbers something must be remembered: the Lord gives the increase. Surely it is in God’s heart to give an abundant increase, but it’s also important to realize that without God, all of life’s “busyness” is simply vanity.
The Lord truly is a God of numbers, but only insofar as it brings glory to His Name, and not because of a popularity contest with the world, leading only to mediocrity. Such illusory empires shall come to nought at the second coming.
“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” -Psalms 127:1
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