I think this is from CFW Walther – I was remembering this when someone told me that they don’t read the periodicals of our church or the notices that come from the District Offices as to workshops and other events that could educate us all. One of the problems that we have is that if we pay attention to all the stuff we are supposed to we don’t have the time to do what we are urged to do below.
A true believer must associate with one who is not yet standing in the faith, in this way to plead with him accordingly, to enter into religious conversation to rouse him to the care of his soul, and to allure him to Christ; or if he feels too weak for that, then to seek to at least move him to go with him to church, in that way to experience how he can be saved. He also will indeed plot to place a Bible or some other salutary and rousing literature into the hand of the poor man stuck in unbelief. Before everything else, indeed, those who have come to the true faith will seek to bring those close to them to Christ: the believing man his unbelieving wife and vice versa, the believing parents their unbelieving child, the sibling their sibling, the relative their relative, the friend their friend, the master and mistress of the house their servants, maid, and worker, the boss the apprentice, the roommate the roommate, the neighbor. A Christian who has truly come to the faith also does not merely remain concerned with his individual neighbor, but also desires that his entire city, his entire land, yes indeed, the entire world be brought to Christ. For this reason, he also gladly reads such periodicals through which he comes to know what is happening in the kingdom of God [lit. experiences what time it is in the kingdom of God], for he takes to heart in every part what happens in the kingdom of God. The chance of those who have come to the true faith becoming indifferent toward those who still live without God that it is indeed more easy and likely for the newly converted to fall into an entirely unhealthy missionary zeal, by which they fail to appreciate [lit. forget] their own salvation. In short, the entire Christian Church is not only a community [organized] by men, but also a great mission society founded by God Himself; each individual congregation is indeed, so to speak, mission society branch established by God Himself, and each believing Christian is a missionary in his own [social] circle [or sphere of influence].
