Is It Good News to Me?
At this point, we have to ask ourselves the hard question:
Is the gospel good news to us?
Just last Sunday, we had a newcomer at our church whom we’ll call Elise. She’s a successful director in the fashion industry, and she looks the part. But her personal life was in crisis, having gone through a divorce, an unhealthy relationship, shallow friendships and immense stress at her job. She started looking for answers at a Buddhist church, a counselor and even a psychic, who instructed her to meditate over a crystal.
So as she was meditating, she heard a man’s voice telling her to drop the crystal. She heard him say: “Trust me. I will take care of everything.” But when she looked around, no one was there. She asked her boss, a believer who lived in another city, what she should do.
Her boss directed her to someone who goes to our church, and they met up for a meal. They talked, and our church member shared the gospel through the Big Story. She gave her life to Jesus right there.
We ask newcomers to introduce themselves when they show up at our church, and when it was Elise’s turn, she went into her whole story about how she became a Christian and how much joy she has right now.
It was good news to her, and she couldn’t stop gushing about it.
The Countercultural Task
Evangelism is one of the most countercultural things we can do today. It strikes hard against the relativism of this postmodern age, which rails against us for being arrogant, intolerant or cock-sure, claiming there’s a story above all other stories. It’s a time when being perceived as close-minded is the greatest insult, and it would be easy to retreat into the shadows of culture, so as to not offend.
In a quote that is often misattributed to St. Francis of Assisi, we’re told to: “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” So it’s tempting to take the easy road and believe that our words are not necessary. Our lives will speak for themselves, right?
Yes, we will have to live out our faith. Without that, we won’t have any credibility or integrity. Actions matter. That’s a given. But our actions aren’t enough.
I remember when a young campus minister told us the story of how he prayed for a homeless man who had been struck by a truck. He was hunched over with broken ribs but didn’t bother going to the hospital. This minister prayed for the man, and as he prayed in the name of Jesus, they both heard cracking sounds coming from his ribs. At the end of the prayer, the homeless man straightened up, stretched out his arms, took a deep breath and smiled. He was healed.
At the end of the story, I asked excitedly, “Did you invite him to follow Jesus?”
He just looked at me, his eyes blinking in bewilderment. “I didn’t even think to ask.”
Actions don’t interpret themselves.
Words and actions are like two wings of an airplane, and you won’t catch flight in witness with just one or the other. Words are needed to explain the actions. It’s the pattern that you see in Jesus’ ministry throughout the gospels: a demonstration of the kingdom of God followed by an explanation of what’s going on.
For Jesus, words always followed deeds.
There’s an old saying: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But that’s not quite right. Stick and stones can break bones, but words can wound a soul. Or lift it up. In fact, from the beginning, all of creation—every breath and shining glory—started with a word.
Words bring life.
The Bible challenges us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). You might be given an opportunity to talk about your faith, and if you want to offer life, your words are always necessary.
