The Uselessness of a Platform2 min read
It’s interesting that everyone talks about how a platform with access to so many people is a wonderful way for the gospel to connect to people.
We look at the value of converts based on the number of people they have access to
For example, a popular celebrity is considered more valuable because of his/her influence and reach compared to a no-name convert.
I think to God, platform or access to people is of little value.
Two cases in point
First, we have the story of Lazarus and the rich man
The rich man wanted Abraham to send Lazarus to his family in the hopes that his new platform (back from the dead) would be the clincher to get them to come back to God.
Abraham said the platform is redundant in the scheme of things. The most important convincer should be the word that God had already given.
Second, we have Saul who God took a different direction after his conversion
His platform prior to conversion was a strong presence within the Jewish community. He had a reputation backed with a solid performance as a Jewish scholar and enforcer.
The obvious thing would have been for God to use his Jewish based platform to focus on reaching Jews.
Quite the opposite. God has him start from scratch by reaching gentiles. It’s a clear case of doing the exact opposite of what is naturally expected
Am I saying God does not use existing platforms?
No, rather, leveraging the platform which people had before conversion should not be the objective when people convert.
The first thing should be to ground them in their faith.
Grounding them in their faith means they must be ready to walk away from their platform if it glorifies God best.
When they are faith-secured enough to walk away, then they can walk in to use their existing platform if that’s what God wants
The first thing is not to start leveraging their platform, it’s to ground them in their faith enough to forgo their platform
I pray I may never be fixated on the platform that potential converts have as a basis for measuring their value.
