The Gospel is only ‘Good News’ if it arrives in time
A few years ago we spent some time reflecting on the simple question, ‘What is the point?’. What does it mean to have a faith in God, and how does that influence our day to day lives? We were in a season that placed our life on ‘pause’ and we were thinking about the future and what life could be like.
God placed Philippians 1:12-30 on our hearts in relation to Paul’s acknowledgement that the Gospel needed to be preached at all costs. Paul is writing from prison and is wrestling with his own situation, stating the benefit to him if he were to die and be with Christ, however, the benefit to the kingdom if he were to go on living. It was verse 22 that particularly challenged us – “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me.”
The challenge for us was clear, that God is calling us to a new sense of urgency in sharing the gospel and seeing people encounter Jesus and ultimately entering into the kingdom of God.
But not just for them to enter the kingdom of God, but to become authentic disciples that also carry the urgency of the gospel, and take every opportunity to share it.
We have certainly learned over the last 5 years that life is fragile, and we are trying to embrace this new urgency of the gospel daily as we live by faith every day. It has been crucial for us to understand that as we step out, the Holy Spirit walks with us. Our daily walk is with God by our side, he goes before us and behind us. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
By allowing God to work in and through us from the time we wake up, till when we go to bed, living with eyes to see what is around us and ears to hear God’s voice, looking up and out, tuning ourselves towards God and taking every opportunity that comes our way, we can make a difference in people’s lives, as they step out of darkness and into the light.
Sounds great doesn’t it, but the reality is often so different, the journey is hard, challenging, and full of missed opportunities.
Last year we attended a conference, where a friend of ours, ‘Alan’ was one of the elective speakers. Alan is a missionary who ‘prayer walks’ a particular road each week, walking through its bustling communities, chatting with people, bringing people together, establishing small missional communities and sharing the love of Jesus. During the elective there was one particular phrase that Alan shared that stood out to us both:
“The Gospel is only Good News, if it arrives on time”
Wow, what an incredible perspective, that certainly brought all our missed opportunities, to the front of our minds. It’s all very well us being Christians and having faith in God, but if we don’t share that, when God gives us the opportunity, ‘What’s the point!’.
We are discovering a new kind of urgency based on a revelation that we must actively take the gospel into the world, rather than waiting for people to come to church.
As Jesus travelled around, he met people where they were at, in the ordinary places and on the highways and byways. He turned normal situations into opportunities to talk about the Kingdom of God. His conversation with the Samarian woman at the well (John 4:1-42) started with an ordinary everyday request for a drink of water on a hot sunny day. Nothing out of the ordinary or special there, but this simple request started a conversation that would go on to impact the entire town.
The nature of our own humanity and the culture that we live in, can often overwhelm us, creating a barrier that stops us engaging with people. There have been many times when we have known God has been talking to us in a specific place, a prompt to talk to someone, a word to speak into someone’s life, but in our own inadequacy and fear, we have ignored the voice of God.
Understanding 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 can really help us understand that we don’t need to operate in our own strength, but that we receive our competence from God, or put another way our qualification or sufficiency comes from God. He makes us competent, sufficient and qualified to be ministers of the new covenant (The Gospel message), through the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
What would happen if we truly understood this and lived daily on mission, in His sufficiency, not in fear but by allowing the Holy Spirit empower us. Would more people hear or experience the Gospel message? Would the Kingdom of God grow? Would we be encouraged and grow in our faith?
So back to the quote - “The Gospel is only Good News, if it arrives on time”
The challenge is for us to live with an active faith, all day, every day. We aren’t called to have a Sunday faith and to only pray at mealtimes and at bedtime. We are called to live as followers of Jesus, disciples who devote their lives to worship, community, mission, and growing in obedience and freedom. The only way the Kingdom of God is going to expand, and people discover that Jesus is Lord, is if we all play our part in sharing the Gospel.
Do you have a sense of urgency to share the gospel daily with those you meet in the everyday, ordinary places?
Do you have the conviction to live out your faith constantly and to truly see the Kingdom of God, here on earth, as it is in heaven.
What would your life be like if you lived your life on mission, at home, work and in your community, engaging with everyone you meet with a heart of love?
written by Richard and Lois Evans