The Public-Schooled Christian

If someone recommended a book to you, would you trust a friend’s recommendation or the recommendation of someone you just met more?

What if someone were to give you advice? Would you be more likely to trust the advice of a good friend or your partner in science class?

The answer to both of these questions is obvious: you’d be more likely to listen to your friend. Even the reason you’re reading this post is probably because someone you trust told you about the blog. 

That’s true even more in serious situations. If someone told you news like, “The president was assassinated” or “Scientists have discovered the cure for cancer,” you probably have more faith in those words if they came from a friend or family member who you trust. And if people are more likely to trust the words of their friends, wouldn’t it also make sense that people are more likely to listen to the gospel message if a friend shares it with them?

Telling our friend about a movie and sharing the gospel are similar in some ways. We tell someone about a movie because we love it, and in the same way, we tell people about Jesus because we love Him. 

But sharing the gospel and talking about a movie are also very different. We share about the movie because we think our friend would like it. However, we share the gospel not because we think they would like it, but because it is life-changing. Sharing the gospel is much more serious—the news of Jesus’ sacrifice is the best news imaginable, but is also news concerning life and death, and should be treated accordingly. We are often more careful about talking about Jesus than recommending a book, which is a good thing. Though we shouldn’t let feelings of inadequacy stop us from sharing the gospel, we want to convey the news well.  

Even though people are more likely to listen to us if we’re their friend, that doesn’t mean that God could never call us to share the gospel with someone we just met, or to start a conversation with someone new and share the gospel with them—He could, and we should obey if He calls us to do so. But, in my experience, most of the time the gospel is shared through a relationship. 

Most of us heard about the gospel through a relationship. Maybe our parents, a friend, or a coach shared the good news with us. And just like we learned about the gospel from other people, other people learn about the gospel through us if we are willing to share.

A big way of sharing the gospel is through our words. If we live righteously but never tell others about the good news, no one will learn about Jesus from us. We need to speak about Jesus!

Another way we can constantly share the gospel with people is through our actions. 1 John 4:8 says that God is love. Therefore, when we love others, we are reflecting Jesus to them. We are showing that God loves them by loving them ourselves. 

When has someone done something that made you feel loved, seen, and valued? I can think of a few things that make me feel loved: when someone acts excited to see me, my friend FaceTimes me just because, or my sister comes to my room and sits down to talk with me. 

It’s funny how the things that make me feel loved are seemingly small things. It doesn’t cost someone much to act excited to see me, FaceTime me, or talk, but I remember what they did for a long time. Why don’t I show those same acts of love to others more often? 

I challenge you to write a list of all of the times you have felt loved, even in a small way. Here is a list of mine if you’re curious. And next, I challenge you to draw on the list you made for inspiration and do something to show someone else that you care for them today.

Remember someone’s name and wave to them in the hallway at school. Bake cookies for a friend or buy them a bag of their favorite candy. Ask your little brother or sister if they want to play a board game. 

Building relationships with people shows that we love them. If they know we care about them, they will be more open to us sharing the gospel with them (which is also an act of love). 

Christ loves all people greatly, and His love for us was shown in the greatest way when He died for our sins. Jesus dying for us is like if Superman—a perfect Superman who had done no wrong—died to save Lex Luthor. It’s as if Harry Potter gave his life so that Voldemort could be spared. That’s amazing. .

When we show love to others, we are doing God’s will and honoring His commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27). And when we share the Gospel, we are telling about the greatest act of love imaginable. 

Do you grasp Jesus’ love for you? Do you pour out that love to others? I struggle with showing love sometimes because I’m nervous about what people would think, or sometimes, it’s simply inconvenient. 

But Jesus loved people even when—especially when—it was inconvenient. Will you love others? Will you share the gospel and thereby share Jesus’ love? Will you build relationships with people and show that you care for them?

Because Jesus cares for people more than we could imagine and loves us beyond our understanding. He pours love into us, but will we pour love out?