“'Come, follow me,’
Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’”- Matthew 4:19;
NIV
Sharing the good news of Jesus is an essential part of being
a follower of Christ. He calls us to “go and make disciples…teaching them…baptizing
them...” (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus told His disciples what He expected out of
them. He made it pretty clear now that they had heard His words and seen His
deeds, they needed to go and tell others.
For some reason, many have stepped away from sharing the
good news of Jesus. I’m not quite sure what has happened, but I do know that
many of those many really don’t know how to do it. Then, there’s the group that
goes full on shouting, yelling, wearing the shirts, blaring “God’s Not Dead”(I like the song) on
their radio as they pull up to the stoplight (which is a great way to find out
you’re number 1). When it doesn’t work, they lean towards the idea that they
are being persecuted or hated by the world, but maybe it’s the way they go
about sharing the message?
Perhaps, it’s an even deeper issue of motive or agenda?
Before we can go out sharing the good news of Christ, in a
healthy way, we need to ask ourselves a few questions:
1) DO YOU BELIEVE IN
WHAT YOU’RE SHARING?- This question has to be the first question we ask
ourselves, especially when it comes to sharing about Jesus. If we don’t believe
in what we are telling people, then how can we expect them to believe it
ourselves?
For instance, if you invite someone to your church by saying “Come
to our church! The worship is incredible, the teaching is great, and the people
are so friendly!”, but you don’t believe it yourself, then how can you expect
people to come. If you tell people that Christ brings peace, hope, and love;
yet, you walk in fear, trepidation, and anger, then how can you expect people
to believe in the Jesus you are describing? If we can’t believe in the Word of
God ourselves, then we need to take a step back and rediscover who He is in
order to share with passion and truth.
2) DO YOU LOVE
PEOPLE?- Jesus asked Peter: “Do you love me?...Take care of my sheep” (John
21:16). These words were not just to ask Peter if he loved Christ, but to help
him understand that if he loved Christ, then he would take care of Christ’s
people. We, as Christians, are called to love and care for people. This is the
very reason we share the good news of Christ to everyone. If we don’t love
people, then why would we share the message of hope and love? As you share the
gospel, be sure to ask yourself how much you love them and do you love them as
Christ loves them.
3) DO YOU HAVE THE
RIGHT MOTIVE IN MIND?- This is a heart and gut check. We are not called to
share the good news of Christ to earn rewards. We are not called to get people
to accept Christ so we can have the larger house when we get to heaven. We are
called to share the message so people can come to recognize their full life and
potential in Jesus. We are called to help people understand their reconnection
with their Creator. It is not about us! We don’t save anyone! Christ does the
saving. We are merely His servant doing what He has called us to do. Check our
egos at the door. God’s not keeping a tally on how many people come to Him
through us, but how many we served and loved so they could know Him! We will
perish from this earth, but His hope reigns forever. It is great if people know
us, but it is even greater when people know He who saved them…which isn’t us!
Sharing the good news is hard. Finding the right way to do
it could be even harder. However, if we ask ourselves these three questions and
allow them to shape our sharing, we may get better results or at least people
looking at us like we truly do care about their gaining life and not our own
reward.
May we truly embrace the message for ourselves. May we truly love people the way Christ loves them. Finally, may we be willing to step out and share the message in humility and grace.
QUESTIONS: What are some ways you have had the gospel shared with you?
How have you shared it?
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