Last night at our young adult bible study we were talking about how we as Christians are called to spread the Gospel. We have a really good group of young Christians who have a heart for the University of Hawaii in Hilo that is just down the street from where we meet for our group.
I asked the group how we as residents of Hilo can share the gospel with people, especially those at the school. Our passage for last night was from 1 Corinthians 2. Paul is talking about how he preached the gospel in Corinth to the Christian converts. He tells us he did not use eloquent words or wisdom but that he just preached Christ crucified an idea that both the Jews and the Gentiles thought ridiculous.
For the Jews the Messiah was to come with many signs and wonders and he was to free the people from the oppression of Rome. Christ’s death on the cross, the death of a criminal and political enemy of Rome was not what they had in mind. The Gentiles idea of a god is one of power. Gods just don’t come down to earth to do humans any favors, that is beneath them. A god suffering and dying on a cross, killed by humans just doesn’t make sense. So Paul preached this idea that both groups thought ridiculous even laughable.
So Paul proclaimed the gospel in a way that he could not take credit for, he spoke simply and let the power of God do the rest.
So this is where our small group was when I asked how we as Christians proclaim the gospel. A lot of the answers had to do with getting to know people for who they are and truly caring for them because if someone doesn’t think you care for them they will not care what you have to say. This statement makes a lot of sense to me. In my own life there have been people who have really cared for me so when they spoke I listened.
Later the idea of the golden rule came up. We should love others because we want that love in return. This sparked a thought for me. We live in a very selfish culture that focuses on the individual. It is what I want not what anyone else wants. Then I realized that the golden rule seems pretty selfish to me. I treat people in a certain way so that they treat me in the way. So I love and respect people only for the reward of them loving and respecting me? That puts me in focus, not the other and especially not Christ! So I put forth an alternative option, it shouldn’t be “treat others the way you want to be treated,” it should be “treat others the way Christ would treat them.”
Spreading the gospel is not about me. I think Paul makes this point well 1 Corinthians 1:13, “Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” It is not about the person proclaiming the message, it is about the message being proclaimed. Christ must be our focus. Christ is the one who suffered and died for us. In this culture we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we miss the amazingness in being the preacher that is not remembered.
I am called to ministry. I don’t know what that ministry will be for the rest of my life. I don’t know where I will be living. I don’t have all the answers, but what I do have is love that has been entrusted to me by my maker and savior and I have been given instructions to go spread that love wherever I am. I pray that whoever is reading this will know that our calling is not to go and make a great name for ourselves and sell millions of books about learning how to help others be the best they can be, but it is to treat others the way Christ would treat them and that is with love.
11 years ago