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In spite of the numerous TV transmitters that dot the map of our nation, there are still some remote spots that can only barely receive a picture. These are called “fringe areas”. The picture they receive is very poor and hardly worth watching. The reason is because they are so far from the transmitter that the signal is very weak by the time it gets to them. At certain times, when the weather conditions are just right, the picture may come in very clear, but with the shift of the wind or the change in humidity the picture disappointingly dims again.
It strikes me that we have a large number of “fringe area” Christians. As far as the Lord’s work is concerned these people live on the very fringe and they are practically “out of the picture.” They live too far from the “transmitter” (the church) in terms of their interests, moral values, and emphases in life. Whatever picture they have of the church and its work is cloudy and dim. The Christian who is always finding something wrong with the church, whether in the lives of its individuals, in the way the money is spent, etc., is getting a “sorry picture” in most cases because he lives on the fringe, too far from the transmitter.
Once in a while such a person may be “turned in” just right (when the “wind” is blowing in the direction to suit him) and he seems to have a good picture of what the Lord’s work is all about after all. But let a small disappointment come, or a slight offense happen, or something that he did not agree with occur, and his “picture” once again dims and fades. The simple solution to the “fringe area” type of Christian is that he needs to move closer to the transmitter! “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (Jam. 4:8a).
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in the Juned 1, 1973, issue of Words of Truth, Gus Nichols, editor.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
