It’s All About ‘Who’
Have you ever noticed that in the New Testament there is
little information about methods or strategies for mission? The gospel, Acts, and the epistles all
generally make clear that we are all called to share in God’s mission and the
proclamation of the gospel, but there is no “How To” section. As a man who likes to think through methods
and systems, this intrigues me.
Instead, the emphasis is on ‘Who’ rather than ‘How’. Is it, therefore, right to infer that God is
more interested in the ‘Who’ aspect? Both
the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament do go into detail on this
point. Regarding finding a new King for
Israel, the Lord counsels Samuel to “look into the heart” rather than the
physical appearance. During the Exile,
Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego are of note because of their righteous
characters rather than their skill sets.
The New Testament continues this theme with many of the apostle Paul’s
letters, and those of John also touching on the importance of good
character. Competence in financial
administration might have been a requirement for the seven ‘deacons’ chosen to
ensure that the widows received what was due to them, but the requirement was
for men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (See Acts 6:1-3).
In the UK, the issue of character and integrity has come to
the fore in the news with the allegations about the actions of our Prime
Minister. Suddenly, it seems important
that we have a Prime Minister whom we can trust! Sadly, all such leaders tend to have feet of
clay. By contrast, the news in the 24
hours prior to my writing this piece drew attention to the courage and
perseverance of two tennis stars who played on despite physical difficulties. The fact that they both lost their games
seems unimportant compared with their readiness to soldier on despite the
blisters etc.
But politics and sport are hardly in the same league as
building the kingdom of God and taking the message of the kingdom to those who
have yet to embrace it. So, I return to
my question about what really matters to God when it comes to serving him. The focus must be on the character aspect of
“Who?” rather than the skill set. It has to be ‘Who’
By now it is possible that the title of this piece (It has
to be ‘who’) might be bringing to mind a song from an old romantic film
starring Ginger Rogers. That song was
made famous by Frank Sinatra; “It had to be you”. So, I make no apology for changing my title from “It has to be who”, to “It
has to be you”. Both the film and the
song make the point that there was only one person who was the right marriage
partner. At this point what I am writing
parts company with the film and song - or does it?
It has to be you!
God is searching, not for a soul mate, but for people who
will genuinely love him and want to help fulfil his purposes in the world in
which we live. I hope that you include
yourself in that company. God’s great
desire is that everyone would come to repentance (2Peter 3:9). God chooses and
works through ordinary people telling the story of his saving love. For Andrew and Philip, two men who had begun
to realise how special Jesus was, they shared the message with Peter and Nathaniel. For a woman who met Jesus at a well, her
immediate contacts were the people living in the same village. None of those who passed on the news were
perfect, but it had to be them.
I am amazed that God looks for partnership in mission to
people like me. He has a host of angels
that will do his will, but he calls us to share with him. I guess we will never know the full
reason. It was Daniel Niles, a Ceylonese pastor, evangelist and one time president of the Ceylon Methodist Conference, who
originated the definition of evangelism as “One beggar telling another beggar
where he found bread”. The point of his
statement, which some find puzzling, is there is - or should be - nothing
presumptuous about sharing the gospel with another person. But at the same time the statement removes
all excuses for failing to accept the invitation to partner with Jesus in his
mission. It has to be you.
It has to be you because there are some people that God
loves and for whom you are a significant contact. There is no magic formula for
evangelising. It’s not about the method;
it's about the ‘who’. And in this case -
the ‘who’ is you. The best thing I can
advise since we are not given an exemption, is to pray, pray, and pray again
that God will use you and open the heart of those to whom he wants you to
witness.
Thank you for being part of the answer to “Who?” Please let me know how you get on. We will join you in praying for any of your
friends if you pass on their names. We will treat this in confidence.
