The Only Bible.

Something that’s been on my mind a lot lately is the way our lives reflect or don’t reflect the Gospel and how much non-believers take notice of our actions.

I grew up thinking that the only way to share the Gospel with someone was to explicitly explain the Gospel word for word and pray that he/she would accept it. It took me a long time to realize that while that is good, sometimes your actions speak louder. My actions can echo and show what I try to explain through sharing the Gospel with someone.

I never understood that until I got to college. I never thought that much about how I may be the only Bible someone ever reads. It never registered with me how simply loving on someone could reflect Christ so deeply, to the point of them coming to wonder what makes me joyful, what makes me so on fire for a Savior they have yet to encounter.

I think it’s really hard to share the Gospel when our actions don’t align with what we’re trying to share. The Lord loves each and every person, but do our actions reflect that? How can we expect someone to believe something we don’t live out ourselves? I’m often guilty of that. Does the way I speak of others that I have a harder time loving reflect the way Christ loves them?

There’s also such a stigma that you must travel half way around the world to share the Gospel with people. NOOOOO! While going to serve those all over and share the Gospel is so so good, the Lord is begging us to share with our neighbor. Don’t use the excuse of “Oh well, we live in the Bible belt so everyone has heard the Gospel” because that is just simply. not. true. If you look around and realize that all of your friends are believers that is awesome that you have community so rooted in Christ, but go out of your way to get to know new people in your community. Simply being someone’s friend and serving them joyfully makes anyone question where the love you have comes from.

I’ve met people at Auburn that have never heard the name of Jesus and that immediately made me realize that I’ve lived in my own little bubble for far too long to the point that I had no idea those around me may not know the name of Jesus.

I saw a tweet the other day that one of my best friends tweeted that really convicted me: “How much do you have to HATE somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”

Share the Gospel with those around you and live a life that reflects the Gospel you’re sharing. Let your story reflect what’s true of Christ: He loves us unconditionally, so much to the point that He sent His son to die for our sins. He forgives us over and over and over. He shows us grace.

Live a life that makes people question where your joy in the best and hardest of times comes from. Live a life that is on fire for the Lord, your life may be the only Bible someone ever reads, so make sure it reflects His truth and His goodness.

xo,

msv