When I look around our world today, I feel strongly that the message of the gospel is just as applicable and practical as it has ever been. Our society needs the message of the church! We need to be strong and stay the course and continue to share God’s love and bring hope to the world! Three things I want to say to encourage us to share the good news.
#1: When God gets left out
Since 1992, St. Luke’s has partnered with people in Ulyanovsk, Russia to share Christ’s love, grow in our faith, and serve those in need.When you look back at the country’s history, Lenin was determined to destroy the church. He was actually raised in a religious home, but at the age of 17, he decided that he was against God and the church. One day, very dramatically, he yanked the cross from around his neck and threw it on the floor, denouncing his faith and the church.
When Lenin became dictator of all of Russia, he set out to systematically close as many churches as possible. It’s interesting, though, that Lenin, then tried to establish a society based on the principals of the church by attempting to create a culture with an “all for one and one for all” type mentality.
It’s amazing when you look at our own society and consider the positive impact the church has truly had. This week I was at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. There they showed us a list of buildings where scripture was engraved, important documents that quoted scripture, and how our faith was an important part of the foundation of our nation.
#2: Why do we love?
We love because God first loved us. When you experience the love of Christ in your heart, you have a greater love for those who are struggling or hurting, who are lonely or dying, the poor, the oppressed, the stranger, even the enemy.
When you feel loved by God, it’s simple, you want to share it with others! This was the very thing Lenin tried to kill in Russia. He said, trust the state rather than trust God. And of course, the state failed. It turned into a terrible dictatorship, and the people were so oppressed.
#3: When God becomes real
If you really want to know God and truly see Him, reach out and share his love. When we find ourselves not reaching out to love others, beyond our own family, it’s a good time to reflect on our own faith. How strong is your relationship with Christ? What about your devotional and prayer life? Have you been taking time to read your Bible? If you don’t feel a love for people, then how is your spiritual journey going? If God seems far away, then how much have you been loving others? Because it’s amazing, as you reach out and start loving others, God seems to feel so close and so real. It becomes a cycle. We feel the love, we share the love and the more we share the love, the more real God becomes in our lives. You start breaking either part of the cycle and you begin to feel distant from God.
We have so many opportunities to reach out and share our love with others. Right here in our own city, there are people we can help every day. It can be people in your office, your next door neighbor or a complete stranger. When was the last time you invited someone to church? When was the last time you shared your faith? When was the last time you reached out and did an unselfish act of love? I’m telling you, the church and the gospel it proclaims has an incredible impact on our society and our culture. YOU can help make a difference in the city in which we live and our country, by sharing the gospel. It HAS made a difference and will continue to make a difference.
