09-01-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 1, 2024
An individual can communicate certain ideas adequately without any personal involvement in the actual idea. I can explain a basic math problem or how to turn on a vacuum without having any deep emotional connection to it. In fact, it is probably good that I do not have a strong emotional connection to the vacuum. The sharing of the Gospel is different. It requires the sharing of ourselves. The Gospel is an empty concept if it is not joined to a person who knows firsthand the Good News of God’s abundant and life-giving love. Oh sure, you can explain Martin Luther’s understanding of grace quite adequately from an academic perspective without any emotional connection, but a neighbor aching with grief isn’t interested in Martin Luther’s beliefs, which were deeply rooted in the historic development of 16th-century Europe. In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul invited his readers to share not only the Gospel but themselves (vs. 8). In doing so, he suggested that the Gospel comes alive when connected to our life stories.

Lord, let the Gospel break loose from the academic and theoretical so it can take on life through my life and witness. Amen.