Sharing… a hard lesson for all
There are a few lessons that we (adults) like to keep our distance from. Those lessons are: obedience and sharing. We like them……..for children and dogs. Adults traditionally do not like being told to follow the rules (just go to a little league game and watch the stands) or to share what they have.
As Christians we are called to do both. Without question. Limitlessly. Period. Without a doubt.
Simple, right? I mean, we have Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit who make things like this super easy. Why would we struggle with obeying the God who set the sun, moon, and stars into motion? Who would think to question the direct words and commands of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount? (you know, “love your enemies…and all that”). Why would there be any doubt left within us when we’ve been promised and have felt the Holy Spirit move within and around us?
Sigh.
I have a job because Christians like to sit in the same spot hearing basically the same message over and over, week after week, for a lifetime. Before I get a rock lobbed at my face, I’m also a part of the problem because I like having said job.
One of the biggest flaws (this is my opinion) in Western Christianity is the ability for Christians to receive the profound blessings of God without sharing one bit of those blessings with anyone outside of their inner circle.
Selfish Christians. Yep. That is the heart of the prosperity gospel which has tens of thousands (probably in the hundreds of thousands) of followers seeking every earthly blessing because they’re told thats what God wants to give them. If things look bad, send more money to your favorite televangelist or pray a different prayer, and poof! Blessings!
Those blessings are there, have no doubt about that. God is not selfish about sharing everything with us (see The Gospels for proof). God shared Himself – all of Himself with us. What is expected of us is to do so in kind. Not because we’re earning another jewel in our crown, but because we’re overflowing with His generosity.
That is the heart of evangelism. It cannot nor will it not succeed because of a catchy program. Evangelism is an overflowing of the blessings God has given us. Hoarding them to ourselves and doling them out sparingly to those who pass the tests and jump through the right hoops is not sharing. That is being selfish and ignoring the Great Commission.
Imagine if we wanted people to actually know as much about God and eternity and Jesus and the Holy Spirit as we do! Imagine having all eternity to smile at each other because we finally have complete union with God!
Imagine what it would look like if the Church mobilized in evangelism not out of guilt or pressure, but out of a longing to share. Just like we tell our children to.