That I Might Make Known The Mysteries of the Gospel

Many of you will recognize this verse as the one that directly follows Paul's address on the Armor of God. This verse has, seemingly effortlessly, dominated my thoughts of late and begun to shape what may soon become one of the cornerstones of my belief in ministry. I've heard a lot of people say that the church has forgotten the meaning of the word "gospel" and the subsequent action demanded thereby. I, on the other hand, would say that until this time of my life, I had never fully grasped what it meant at all. There was simply nothing to forget.

Growing up in the church, I heard the phrase tossed around so much that it became almost a quip, a turn of speech, rather than the life-altering truth that it is. Evangelism, or "outreach," was the buzzword we used to describe nervously asking a friend to church and being nearly embarrassed to death that someone might get "weird" in front of said friend.

It never sank in, not even into my mid-twenties, that spreading the Gospel, the "Good News", of Jesus Christ was giving someone the opportunity to live a life changed by grace. As I read, and write down my thoughts on, the life of Jesus Christ, my feelings towards Him and what He did for us have become sharper, clearer, as though I am undertaking a constant eye exam. You know the one. You put your face up to a crazy machine with tons of prescriptions of lenses inside, and the doctor tweeks them one by one until you reach the optimum clarity of vision. I feel like each day and turn of the page reveals something I either never knew, or never grasped the gravity of in the way Jesus acted, and how He talked. Again, it lends clarity of vision.

Yet, I am still well aware of how I have perceived the effort to "convert" people with rabid persistence. I always have taken the approach to evangelism as though I were the one being reached out to. I remember when a pastor I once knew tipped me with a tract at work, rather than a tip. I thought I would either stop going to church or throttle him then and there, lose my job, and then stop going to church. Either option seemed viable to me.

It has always seemed as though people, devoid of real personal intent, have inadvertently made evangelism more like skeet shooting. Throw the target in the air, shoot it, and Bam! Saved... It wasn't until I met my current pastor that I understood what spreading the Gospel can mean. I don't think we ever had the standard "will you pray and ask Jesus into your heart" talk. Over many coffee meetings and hanging out together, I just simply wanted to know Jesus again. Then, we broached that topic slowly. I needed slow. I don't think I would have survived the experience had I had a youth convention style encounter. I needed real. I needed someone to show me what it meant. Not that my parents didn't. I can't think of two more loving, Godly people I've ever known, but you know how it is with parents. They can't say anything to you. You just have to figure it out.

The point is, my pastor introduced me to what it meant to "do life" with people. Jesus had many times when He spoke and people believed, but He was, after all, Jesus. You know, the Messiah? But think of the others that came along with Him. Peter? Thomas? People who still harbored pretty serious doubts years into following Jesus, but Jesus kept walking with them. I was Thomas. I needed the proof. Not physical proof. Just proof. Having a pastor take a genuine interest in me for no apparent reason was the proof I needed. It showed me what love and compassion looked like. It still to this day is a living example of grace, because even though I stumble all the time, he never gives up on me. Rather than coming down on me and threatening to take away leadership roles, he prays with me. That's what Jesus looks like in the real world.

Now, how can I apply this to all the friendships I've cultivated over my years here? How can I take those friendships to the point where that kind of honesty is possible? How do I know when is the right time to say, are you ready? I want everybody I know to know Jesus in a way that makes sense to them. Not in an "all paths lead to the same road" kind of way. But in the way that Jesus made Himself real to me through the type of friendship I needed when I needed it. The Gospel is Good News. Jesus gave everything, His life included away for us. He made it possible for me to know God in a way no one was able to before He came. He paved the way for the Holy Spirit. I couldn't ask for a better savior.