A Columbian was converted to Christ through reading the Bible. He had no personal contact with any missionary or Bible-teaching church. Soon thereafter, he came to the United States to live. Upon arriving here, he began searching for a fellowship of believers so as to learn more about his newfound faith.

Most people converted in America have some tie to a Bible-centered church that provides them with immediate fellowship and spiritual guidance. My Columbian acquaintance did not have this advantage and the maze of multiplied churches and denominations was confusing to him. Finally he settled on a solution. He decided to search until he found a congregation where love, such as he saw described in the New Testament Church, was evident among the people. He felt confident that test would enable him to settle on the right church.

Nearly twenty years have passed since I learned of that Columbian convert’s formula for finding fellowship. Yet, every time his experience crosses my mind I become a bit uncomfortable and an unwanted question surfaces: “If he had visited my church, would he have stayed and made it his own?”

When revival comes, Christian love is seen operating everywhere. Old differences are put away. People who have held grudges lay them aside and forgive as they have been forgiven. People become more important than money or property. Stinginess is stifled. The world looks on and says: “Behold, how they love one another!”