“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.” (Hebrews 10:19-20 NLT)
Under the Old Jewish Covenant only those specifically designated to enter the Holy of Holies were allowed. Otherwise, to enter meant certain death. The rules were strict and the stakes were high and to believe or do anything contrary had very high consequences. On some levels people in our world today still view God in that antiquated way, believing He is vengeful, “out to get us”, just waiting for us to step out of line so He can squish us like a bug, if He exists at all.
For someone to come along today and share that “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” is like saying, “Even though today you are living in poverty, if you truly believe, you’ll be a billionaire.” In some ways it’s easier for people to believe they can become wealthy financially, than free and whole spiritually. For far too many, the fantasy of a loving God is just too absurd to wrap their minds around, but why? Why is it so hard to believe that there is a God who loves us and has good plans for us?
Could it be too many have yet to meet and get to know someone who is a new creation in Christ Jesus? Are we so self-absorbed as children of God that very few non-believers have access to us? Have we become so invested in our Christian friends we have no time or energy to invest in the lost? Yes, of course, it takes intentionality and effort, but in essence that’s the very purpose of our new life in the first place.
Why has the Lord regenerated our hearts and given us newness of life except to share it? I’m reminded of the Samarian woman at the well, who after her encounter with Jesus, the Bible said: “The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did!…So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.”
Why aren’t people “streaming” to Jesus because of our testimony? It can only be because of one of two reasons: we have no testimony and/or we’re not sharing it with any lost people. Why not? Isn’t that our commission? Shouldn’t we be sharing our love for Jesus with anyone and everyone we can? Isn’t He coming soon? Isn’t His love worth sharing?
Brennan Manning wrote: “The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creation.” We’re not saved to be museum exhibits, we’re saved to declare the new life we’ve been given that would have been impossible except for the love of God given visibility and meaning through the loving sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of everything we want to become as we share His life and love with others.
Jesus spoke with those whose lives were “unspeakable”, loved the unlovable, touched the untouchable, and saved the unsavable! Those are the kinds of people who are OUR MISSION! Those to whom the Gospel seems absurd and unbelievable. They may wear nice clothes (or not), smell nice (or not) speak well (or not), know the lingo (or not) and are just pleasant to be around (or not), but if they haven’t had their sins forgiven and their lives transformed by the grace of the Lord Jesus, they’re lost and very much in need of a Savior…a Savior we know and can freely share with them if we will!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 