“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
I once believed that kids were the best part of life. Mary and I have two adopted children. We have told people for years that if we had children that were biologically our own, there is a good chance they would have been dumb and ugly. But because they are adopted, they turned out to be bright and beautiful! True that.
As much as we loved our kids, we have now learned that the best part of life is having grandkids. They rock! Having grandkids is like watching your heart walk around. There is nothing like it.
A few years ago, our then four year old grandson Justus came home from preschool. He was very excited that it was his turn the next week to bring something special for “Show and Tell” at school and to talk to the whole class about what he brought. When his mother asked him what he was going to bring for “Show and Tell” he quickly responded “I am going to bring Papa.” He wanted to bring me!
Show and tell is a great description of what being Sent is all about. We live in a world where the Gospel must both be demonstrated and verbalized. It must be both visual and audible. It must be both caught and taught. It must be observed and heard. It must be both illustration and information.
My particular church tribe as a child emphasized the gospel as “telling.” The gospel was all about a verbal presentation. It was all about information. We used the Roman Road. We used chick tracts. We used Four Spiritual Laws. We were taught that the gospel is something you share.
I heard nothing in my early church years about the gospel as “showing.” In fact, the church I attended was full of some mean spirited people. They would tell you that you needed Jesus, but behave as if they did not know Jesus at all. They were all about salvation as life insurance and fire insurance, but not at all about “How has Jesus changed your life?” The entire gospel message was about verbal presentation.
Being sent means that we come to the realization that the gospel is about showing and telling. Jesus did not come just announcing His love for us. He demonstrated his love for us. We are not just announcers of good news. We are demonstrators of good news.
Here is the harsh reality: no one will want to hear about your Jesus until they want the life you have. They must first see life and light in you before they want to hear about the One who brings you that life and light. Jesus called this “letting your light shine before men in such a way that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” We must be the good news before we earn the right to share the good news.
Madeleine L’Engle said it this way:
“Evangelism is not what we tell people, unless what we tell is totally consistent with who we are. It is who we are that is going to make the difference. If we do not truly enjoy our faith, nobody is going to catch the fire of enjoyment from us. If our lives are not totally centered on Christ, we will not be Christ-bearers for others, no matter how pious our words.”
Showing the love of Christ by how we live opens the door to sharing the love of Christ with our words. The gospel is both show and tell.