Imagine that there is an illness that is ravaging humanity. Imagine this illness had killed millions of people and disrupted the lives of many more. Hard to imagine? I know … it is for me too 🙂
Now imagine that someone comes up with a cure for this virus. A lab in the city of Wakanda finds a 100% safe, 100% effective cure for this worldwide ailment! Hooray! But then imagine that the good people of Wakanda decide to keep this cure to themselves. They inject its fruit into their lives, but refuse to let the outside world know of their discovery. If this was the case, what would be your reaction?
“Wrong analogy Pastor! King T’Challa would never do such a thing!” you say.
I know, I know … but what if he did?
“Then that would be terrible! How could they take such an immense discovery so lightly! Knowing the global impact of the disease, why would they not share the cure’s efficacy with the world?”
And so the conversation would go.
Now imagine that the world is suffering from an ailment that ALL have. Not just that all MAY GET it, but all DO HAVE it. And imagine that this ailment leads to death … and not just death in this life, but eternal death. Now imagine that there were a group of people who had the cure for that ailment. 100% effective. 100% life-giving. And, this gift came with love and grace most thought only possible in Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel … only better. What if those who knew this cure kept it to themselves and shared this information with no one? What if they gathered regularly to sing about the greatness of the cure, and talk about how effective the cure is, but never shared it with anyone outside their group? What would you say?
What if this was the church.
Followers of Jesus (the true church) know that all of humanity are sinners and fall short of God’s glorious standard. Followers of Jesus also know that the wages of sin are death. Followers of Jesus also know that Jesus Christ died to take the penalty our sins demand and offer all who believe in Him eternal life! Therefore, why would followers of Jesus ever keep this information to themselves?
Simply put, it is too small a thing to gather together and sing songs about what Jesus has done for us who live in this world … we MUST also go and tell this world of the hope that we have found in Him.
This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church, we will be wrapping up our “5 Follows” series by talking about following Jesus into Mission. Our text this Sunday will be Isaiah 49:6. Hope you make plans to join us in our 9:00, 10:15, or 11:30 service (inside with adult, college, student, and children classes running), 8am (outside in our outdoor chapel service), or 10:15 online at wildwoodchurch.org/live as we see that it is simply too small a thing to keep the Gospel message to ourselves, but we must share it with others, including the nations on the far side of the world.
We will be talking about opportunities to support children at our partner church in Brazil with Compassion, sending a missionary family out to serve in an unreached area, talking about opportunities to invest in reaching others in our city, and highlighting a class on Global Missions coming to Wildwood this fall! What a day! Hope you can be with … and don’t keep it to yourself — invite your friends!