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Charley the Unicorn and Sharing Your Faith

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Once in a while something comes along that catches you by surprise and simply turns your life upside down. For some, it's a new friendship. Others find it in an amazing book. Still others pick up a new hobby or sport.

But for millions of others, it's a short video called Charley the Unicorn.

Posted on youtube and other sites waaaay back in September of 2006, this quizzical-quirky-freakishly-funny work of art has skyrocketed to nearly 10 million views - and it hasn't showed any signs of stopping. In fact, it's showing up on websites around the world-

Like Germany - ik hem nog nooit heb gepost... Candy mountain Charly, yeaaaaahhh Charly!

And France - Un petit film en flash bien réjouissant, surtout avec le son. Chaaaaaaarlie!

So if you've not had the fortune/misfortune of Charley the Unicorn exposure as of yet, I'll give you a quick rundown. Essentially it's 3 minutes and 45 seconds of an adventuuuuure involving 3 unicorns, a magical leopluredon, and a padded cell plot that will leave you asking yourself something like - 'what just happened here?'

Next, you'll feel your hands moving unconsciously to forward the video on to your friends with comments like 'check this out - I was ROFL!!!'

Oh, and you'll hear yourself telling people around you...strangers even...about poor Charley and his sad ending.

Finally, if you overhear folks criticizing Charley the Unicorn, you just might be tempted to get in their face and cry 'shuuun the non-believer! Shhhuuuuuuuunnnn-ah!'

What is really amazing is how viral this video went so soon. When you combine the love of teens, slightly demented entertainment, and the reach of the internet - Charley can go global faster than you can get a splinter off a rickety bridge.

Which makes me think of another viral phenomenon that happened long before Charley, Numa Numa, or even the internet itself. In fact, this happened before there was even electricity! But like Charley, it was a simple story that for some reason connected with a small group of people, and within a short amount of time had spread across most of the globe...all without the assistance of google, yahoo, youtube, and myspace...can you believe it??? Shun the non-believers!

I think what made this message so popular so fast was the 'this sounds too good to be true' factor. It was the good and true story of how God came to earth as a man named Jesus, who lived a perfect life, died a horrible death, and came back from the grave after three days to prove that there was a way back to God that had nothing to do with our efforts.

At first people probably asked themselves - 'what just happened here?' - but when they realized that they could have a fulfilled life on earth and eternal life in heaven simply through faith in Christ, the viral phenomenon was on its way.

And it hasn't showed any signs of stopping. The cool thing is that we get to continue the chain of 'forwarding' the good news of Christ that was started over 2000 years ago! Here's the way Jesus predicted it:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The power we have is not the internet on our computer, but the Holy Spirit living inside us...and we are witnesses - not to the good news of a video that gives you 3 minutes and 45 seconds of time-stopping entertainment - but an eternity of jaw dropping joy.

At the risk of sounding like a guilt inducing e-mail that reads 'if you don't forward this, you're a worthless jerk - blah blah blah', I would encourage you to think about your privilege as a Christian to let others in on the most amazing message of all time. This is not about a pretend land with a candy mountain, but an authentic heaven with a loving Savior.

And it won't even cost you a kidney...

Head: What you need to know about this truth

The good news of Jesus Christ is a viral message that we as Christians should be forwarding to all our friends.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

Have you ever told someone about a cool/funny/ touching video or movie, then after they saw it, they came back to you and thanked you? Remember that feeling of - 'wow - I'm so glad I told them about that - it seems like I really made their day'? When you lovingly let people in on the freedom and fulfillment they can find in Jesus, just imagine what that could be like if they trusted Christ! You didn't just make their day, you made their eternity!

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

Sometimes when we tell our friends about Christ, they have a similar response as Charley - something like - 'you guys know there's no such person as Christ, right?'. At that point, many Christians do the 'shun' thing, which turns people off. This week, think about how you react when people react negatively to your beliefs. Also, think about creative ways you can tell people about Jesus without sounding too pushy or guilt oriented. Finally, ask yourself a question - are you as willing to share Christ with your friends as you are to forward funny videos? Why or why not?