I think I’m learning something about sharing the gospel from the current presidential campaign. I know that sharing the gospel is more than recounting what you say you believe and why. It takes more than doing a good job explaining theology. It takes more than talk. It takes passion and a consistent life.
Talk – Let’s compare. Some give really great speeches. Some give really good sermons. I want to hear something that makes sense. I want to be touched in areas of my life that are of real concern. I want relevance. Through speeches and sermons, a listener might be motivated to make a change; whether it be in political direction or spiritually. I’m not sure these talks alone are enough, however.
Passion – I want more than good ideas or even powerful argument. I want to feel something. I want to see some passion in the words. I want to know the speaker cares about not only what he is saying, but about those who are listening. I want to walk away with a wish to be involved. I don’t want to just agree. I want to want to join in. I don’t just want to agree to great ideas. I want to become involved in a movement.
Life – I want the talk and the passion to be real. I want to be able to confirm both through evidence. I look for that evidence in the life of the speaker. If that life is consistent with the talk and the passion, I’m ready to join up. If not, quit wasting my time.
On the political side it’s beginning to look like it will be Donald or Hillary. They both talk a pretty good game. They even do so with some passion. I just don’t find validating evidence in their lives. They claim to “relate” to the average person, to the middle class. I don’t think either of their lives resemble mine in any way. They haven’t served in the military. They haven’t lived from pay check to pay check. They haven’t lost a child. They haven’t been convicted of enough sin in their own lives to warrant confession.
They don’t have a history of honesty that would justify me believing them now. They are not used to serving but to being served. They don’t think that rules we have to live by apply to them. I think they are both gifts from God.
I think that the fact that we are down to Donald or Hillary is evidence that God still loves us. He is showing his love by making sure that only the truly foolish will believe that salvation will come from the government. He is showing his love by giving us choices without a difference. He is showing his love by giving us an object lesson on how we must carry out His commission for us. We must talk about Jesus with truth and passion, but we must live lives that are consistent with both the truth and the passion. Without that why should the lost believe us any more than we believe Donald or Hillary?
Thank you Jesus that we don’t have to waste the months between now and November on political activity believing it will make any difference. Thanks Jesus for clearing our agenda so we can do the only things that make an eternal difference. Thanks for Donald and Hillary. Let’s be sure not to waste the gift.
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