Being Ashamed Of The Gospel

Recently I was reflecting on this song.

I first heard it when I was but a little nipper biting at the ankles of me mother. Not that I was literally biting them you understand, but I was a little boy. I remember hearing the song and being moved by it thinking to myself what a sweet song it was going from the mellow chilled voice of the male to that woman with a pearl of a voice.

Of course I got older and then realised some more parts of the brilliance of the song in terms of melodic make up, heavenly harmonic arrangements, luscious use of strings, getting the backing vocals to sound strong and supportive lifting in crescendos at the proper time that set up the lead perfectly.

Of course I got a bit older still and actually took the lyrics to heart that much more.

I was reflecting on that and my own journey with Jesus and how that took a significant turn in 2005/06. There was an upsurge in the interest in Jesus and there was a season of great fascination in who He was and what e was all about. Good times.

As I got a job at YMCA and got even more engrossed in the things of God, I remember having a zeal for the gospel. I’d had gospel zeals before which had lead to an interest in being a part of an evangelism team and then also getting involved in door-to-door witnessing and that type of thing. This was different in the sense that it wasn’t just about having a sales pitch to recite, take people through selected verses and then get them to repeat a prayer. This time the gospel zeal was all about richly interesting yourself in the gospel for what it meant to you and how you shared it with brethren and then with others.

In the services we held on Saturday mornings I remember a little section that I encouraged folks in the church to engage in called Gospel Connections which gave the brothers and sisters the chance to share their own encounters of the gospel kind and encourage others in their own exploits in various ways to make those connections with people in relationship or not to consider gospel truths.

I’m not sure if it was a personal thing or a fear issue, but I found getting stories of gospel encounters hard to come by at times, almost as though there was either a reluctance to share them or an actual reluctance to engage in it. That’s not unusual in the circles in which I grew up, because it was usually the domain of a few – the gifted – to look after ‘evangelism’. There were nominal efforts to rouse tract-giving rallies, but as we know there’s so much more to sharing the reality of who God is in Christ and the story of reconciliation, redemption and renewal than handing out a tract.

It occurred to me then, and it occurs to me now that perhaps there is an element in which we are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe we do it in our reluctance to cause a fuss and disrupt people’s every day activities. Perhaps it is to avoid the claim imposing our beliefs on others. Maybe it is because we’re not confident on what we know and don’t have answers to criticisms. Whatever it is there seems to be line drawn between ‘service’ time where we can shout, holler and all that kind of palaver, then as soon as we are back in ‘normal’ society, we have to fit in and not upset anyone or rock the boat by daring to discuss issues of the good news of Jesus Christ.

It says much really and I was reminded of it again recently that it makes a mockery of what we’re claiming to have happened in our hearts. It makes a mockery of the role Jesus plays in our lives and what He means to us. It should be something exciting, invigorating and infectious to share. It should be a part of conversation that has any dealings with how we are. Yet it is rarely mentioned.

As I dwelt further on that I came to the conclusion that although I might not be in that setting anymore, there is still worth in sharing gospel connections. Not only is there worth in sharing it for the benefit of others, but it is worth it because of that overwhelming love that has changed my life. It’s worth sharing it because I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know what He has done in this great news. I know who I am because of this great news and I know He has given opportunities to share that in all manner of ways that doesn’t require an encyclopaedic knowledge of scriptures, or a great sales pitch. It requires the knowledge and the love of God in you and a desire for others to hear it – as this other song written by Andrae Crouch displays.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd