1 John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Several years ago I came across the first person account of a college student who volunteered for a ministry project in the inner city of Philadelphia. It went something like this:
The bus dropped us off on a city sidewalk in an area of the city I probably would never have chosen to visit. Our leader then told us that our assignment was to share the gospel with someone in some way and to come back in four hours prepared to share a story.
I had never done anything like that before so I was nervous and wondered how in the world I would accomplish the assignment. I walked a few blocks praying silently that God would lead me to the right person and show me what to do. Then I noticed a run-down looking tenement building that looked to be full of apartments. I took a deep breath, asked God for help, and walked into the building. I went up the stairway and into a hallway lined with apartment doors. I walked down the hallway until I heard the sound of a baby coming from one of the apartments. Nervous and very unsure of myself, I knocked on the door. A few seconds later the door opened just a crack and a woman holding a baby peered out at me.
Clearly surprised by a stranger at her door, she said, “Whaddayouwant?”
I said, “I’m on a ministry trip with my church and I wonder if I could share the gospel with you?”
The woman flung the door open and flew into a rage.
“Who the &%$# do you think you are? Coming to my house and saying that kind of %$#@. You think I’m some kind of %^&*$ mission project? Get the &%*$ out of my face…
I tried to apologize but she just screamed louder. I got out of that building as fast as I could and I could hear her cursing even as I got back to the street.
I ran a couple of blocks and sat down on the curb and wept. I was scared; I was embarrassed; and I was a complete failure. What was I doing? Who was I to think I could share the gospel with anyone – especially here?
I sat there for a long time just hoping for the four hours to go by so I could get back on the bus and go home. But then I noticed a small grocery store just down the block and across the street. For some reason I remembered that the woman in the tenement building had a cigarette in her hand and the baby was wearing diapers.
I got up, walked to the store, and bought a carton of cigarettes and a box of disposable diapers. Then I headed back to the tenement building not exactly sure what I would do. I walked up the stairs and back to the same woman’s apartment. I knocked and this time when she opened the door I slid the cigarettes and diapers to her without saying a word. She took them and slammed the door.
A few moments later I turned to leave figuring that was that. But then I heard the door open again and the woman said, “Hey Mr., you wanna come in?”
So I went into her apartment and sat on dirty couch. She lit a cigarette and sat down in a chair while still holding her baby. She offered me a cigarette and even though I don’t smoke, I took one and smoked it as she talked.
She said, “So, what’s a nice boy like you doing in a place like this?”
I told her I was there because I believed Jesus wanted me to be there; and because Jesus loved her; and I told her everything I knew about the gospel.
It took about 3 minutes.
When I finished, she looked at me and said, “Pray for me.”
I said, “Sure, what can I pray?”
She said, “Pray that me and my baby get out of here alive.”
So I prayed.
I love that story because I can relate to it. There are so many times when I have found myself thinking those same thoughts; “Who am I to think I can share the gospel in any kind of way that actually makes a difference?”
But I have learned and I am still learning that it is not my responsibility to make the gospel effective; it is my responsibility to share and demonstrate the gospel and then to leave the results to God.
This is why we are committed as a church to making the gospel visible through “Serve the World.” We believe that when we demonstrate the love and grace of Christ through compassionate service the gospel becomes visible and real to those Jesus wants to reach.
I think that’s what John means when he writes:
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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