|
|
 |
| Who's
Teaching Who?
|
|
We had a cat. We weren’t looking for one and we certainly
didn’t need one, but he sort of found us. The kids instantly
fell in love with him. By the time Melissa and I figured there
was no harm in letting them play with a stray cat, this new
visitor had a food dish, toys, and a bed in the garage. Now,
we had a pet.
The kids named him Max. After several months, just long enough
for all of us to get attached, Max disappeared. We searched
the neighborhood calling out his name. We visited the animal
shelter to see if he’d been picked up. We put out signs with
big, black letters that said, “LOST CAT.” We did that for
Max. Oh, that we had as much concern for our neighbors on
either side of us or those across the street who are just as
lost in sin.
We have no problem seeing the necessity of evangelism. The
headlines in the paper and the evening news depict a world
that desperately needs the good news of the gospel. We have no
trouble recognizing our own responsibility to be involved in
this great work. “Therefore, those who had been scattered
went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). It’s called personal
evangelism; we’re persons. Where we often fall short is in
our motivation to sow the seed, being genuinely concerned
about the souls of men. God “desires all men to be saved and
to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). That
should be the desire of God’s people as well.
Jesus, the Master Teacher, certainly shows us the way in this
regard. When the rich young ruler came to Him wanting to know
the requirements for inheriting eternal life, the Savior
answered out of a love He felt for him (Mark 10:21). Jesus
didn’t look down on the young man because he didn’t know
or respond to his question out of mere duty. He loved him. And
He truly wanted this ruler to submit to the sovereignty of
God. If our desire is to bring people to Jesus’ feet, we
must first follow His steps of concern.
Sometimes, those whom we teach are, in fact, our best
teachers. They receive the gospel message with such energy and
enthusiasm that they can’t wait for their friends and family
to find the treasure they’ve just unearthed. “My husband
needs to know this,” or “my best friend and I were just
talking about that,” they might say. And then they go tell
them about it or provide them an opportunity to exposed to the
same information that just convicted them. In so doing, they
convince us to look more carefully at those close to us who
are far away from God.
When Jesus identified Himself as “the Christ” to the woman
at the well in Samaria, she “left her waterpot, and went
into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a man who
told me all the things that I have done’” (John 4:28-29).
Her conversation with the stranger at the well had taken many
twists and turns. But when she finally realized who Jesus was
and what He was offering her, the first thing she did was let
the rest of the city in on her discovery. She even left her
waterpot behind. That’s because all she could think about
was the living water.
What is the common response to good news or some exciting
discovery? Phone lines are jammed, inboxes are filled, and
every other form of communication available to us is utilized
to spread it around. Why is it, then, that we have the
greatest news of all, the fact that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, and we keep it to ourselves? “And
from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because
of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all the
things that I have done’” (John 4:39). May God help us to
do the same concerning all the things He has done for us.
Years later, when Cornelius was praying at his house, an angel
appeared and told him to send for Simon Peter who would bring
him a message from the Lord. What did this devout, God-fearing
man do? He “called together his relatives and close
friends” (Acts 10:24). He knew that he was about to be
exposed to all that had been commanded by the Lord. And he
wanted to make sure that those nearest to him were close
enough to hear.
We at times think of evangelism only in the sense of those who
are far away: foreign fields, the stranger at the grocery
store, the unknown waiter at the restaurant. Those people need
the gospel, for sure. But what about the neighbor who has
lived next to us for years or our oldest friend from high
school or the wayward member of our family? They are the ones
whom we likely have the most influence over. And who knows how
many of them are praying and searching for guidance in what is
right. Perhaps we ought to be praying more for just the right
opportunity to tell them.
In case you’re wondering, we never did find Max. But when it
comes to people, you can have the confidence of seeing them
again when this life is over. Let’s be certain we love them
enough to give them that hope.
Bubba Garner
|
|
Copyright (C)
2008
Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.
|
|
|
