REFLECTING ON LAST SUNDAY'S SERMON
When I think about evangelism, two images appear in my mind. The first is of a man with a new suite, a cheesy smile, and a bad comb-over. This is the stereotypical (tel)evangelist, found at small-town tent revivals, under the stage lights of arena crusades, or hosting his television special.
The second mental image is that of street witnessing. Tracts, pamphlets, testaments, and small talk. God does certainly use both of these gospel presentations. However, I have recently seen what sincere, sacrificial evangelism can look like. I have recently seen it in my own church family.
We are called to not only share the gospel, but to share our lives. This is not always as manifest and glamorous as the first two images. The sacrifice of a shared life is true grit, no holds barred Christianity. It involves sharing our time, money, emotions, gifts, and resources. I have seen what a shared life looks like through the Christ-exalting men and women around me.
A shared life is a committed group of men meeting in a back room, encouraging one another as they hold each other accountable. It is the quiet, gentle-spirited young women sharing the gospel with a peer after Sunday school. It is a group of young men earnestly praying in their dorm room for a spiritual awaking on campus. It is the retired men of the church spending their weekend working to serve others. A shared life is opening your house and your wallet to the poor, the homeless, and the downtrodden. It is a wife laboring and toiling, using her gifts to serve her family, her church, and God.
The sacrifice of a shared life is continually making others more important than yourself, and making God’s glory paramount.
for His glory,
-DJ
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