Affection Moves Us to Share (Extended Version)

    This article is found in the January 2012 edition of the Sabbath Recorder:

So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (ESV)

     The book, Real Hope in Chicago, is about a high school coach named Wayne Gordon. He was doing a Bible study after school with some inner city kids in the Lawndale area, which was the second poorest community in the country and having issues with drugs and gangs. God gave him such a desirous heart for that community that he moved to Lawndale.
     The kids urged him not to move there because it would be very dangerous for him but Wayne moved there anyway. He got attacked by one of the gangs and had his house broken into again and again.
He persevered not for himself or a sense of duty but a desire to love these kids, share the gospel, and share his life with them. Those kids asked him to start a church and to be their pastor. I don’t how he did it but his love for the community of Lawndale was so strong that he had the opportunity to witness to the guy that kept breaking into his house. Today, that church has 600 members and has ministered to Lawndale by sharing the lives that the gospel has changed with the brokenness found in the community. In other words, the gospel didn’t just transform the people; it transformed the entire community. Wayne Gordon had lived out the truth of 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

Being Affectionately Desirous

     I love being affectionate with my wife and kids. It indicates my desire to continue my relationship with them. Affection is not always physical. It can be demonstrated in a myriad of ways. One of the best ways to show affection is through clear and true communication. This happens in spoken language but also in body language.

     How do you communicate affection and desire to your community and to people who visit your church? What message do your words convey to visitors and the community? What does your body language convey to visitors and the community? (Think about what your church communicates with others when you don't answer the phone, your website is out of date, or your property sits empty most of the week.)

     I love that I get to see my friends and other church members at church every Saturday. However, I want to make more friends and have more people join the body of Christ. My desire is for others to know the same Jesus that changed my life almost twenty years ago. My affection lets others know that I want them to not just have a relationship with Jesus but with me as well.

Ready to Share the Gospel

     According to this passage, it seems as if the gospel is not just words but also how believing those words can impact your life. It concerns me that many folks cannot articulate the gospel of Jesus Christ well. This does not bode well for being ready to share it.

     If we know Christ, we all have a testimony to share concerning how the gospel saves. If He has been working in our lives, we all have a testimony to live concerning how the gospel transforms. Can you give your testimony to what Jesus has saved you from, saved you for, and saved you to? If you can, then you can speak to the infinite love and grace and mercy of God and live it among those who don't know Him. If you can't, then will you practice? Ask for help from another church member or a pastor if necessary.

But Also Our Own Selves

     The sacrifice of animals for the atonement of sins is no longer necessary for our reconciliation with God with the death of Jesus providing the ultimate and once for all scapegoat for the trespasses of those who abide in Him.

     However, there still is a sacrifice to occur by Christians. Romans 12:1 appeals to us “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice”. While martyrdom and a physical death in defense of our faith qualifies here, I do not believe that Paul is calling us all to die as martyrs. This passage is referring to living your life in such a way that God is ordering the steps and not your self.

     Part of our desire for others to know Christ is to provide them with not just testimony of how the gospel transforms our lives but an example of how that life is lived. Part of sharing our own selves for the sake of the gospel is not necessarily moving to the ghetto but allowing others to see how the gospel impacts your workplace, your marriage, your finances, and your priorities.

     This transparency does not come easily and can open our lives up to attack. This is where we learn to lean upon God and His promises to us. Jesus' ministry would not have been nearly as effective had He never involved Himself in the lives of others but shared the gospel one day in seven.

     ARE YOU READY as churches to be affectionately desirous of your communities, to share the Gospel in word and deeds, and sacrifice your preferences in service of Him? AREYOU READY for God to use your church to bring people to Himself? AREYOU READY to sacrifice your comfort, your preferences, your desires, and even your own self to the glory of God? ARE YOU READY for the gospel of Jesus Christ to take its preeminent place in our pulpits and our lives? ARE YOU READY to not just be Seventh Day Baptist but seven day Christians?