While I was in Wisconsin, I read A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanuker. I will be writing several posts from this book because some things are worth repeating.
He and his wife lived near universities like Oxford, since he was a professor. When they moved to the United States, they found that the college students had very negative opinions about Christians. The students thought of Christians as never having any fun and a lot of restrictive rules. This is how the professor and his wife responded to this problem ~
The Christianity we represented was sunny and joyous with all the room in the world for humour and gaiety and yet at the same time rigorous and glorious. So we laughed and joked and poured out the wine but challenged their minds and souls. The students smiled and abandoned the solemn voices they had been taught to use in speaking about such things, gaily drinking the wine and discovering a Christ who was a blazing reality.
They won many of the students to Christ by being joyful and having fun. They were warm and loving with them, inviting them often into their home and feeding them. They loved spending time with them and caring about them. This, I believe, is the best way to win others to Him. Love them, serve them and be happy around them. Let them see how wonderful living for Jesus truly is.
It is the Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can. C.S. Lewis
