Funny, I don't feel loved

Had an odd experience this last week.  In the mail sent to our house was a small envelope addressed to “Clouser family”, but it had no return address.  The post office stamp was from Greensboro, which is a neighboring city to the town we live in.  The envelope was about the size of a “thank you” card.  When I opened it, there was a card with a hand written message that said “Just a quick note to let you know you are loved…” and a gospel track.  The track was from a recognizable Christian website, and it did an “ok” job of presenting the gospel.

What felt weird was that the sender had not signed the card.  No name, no church, no organization…nothing.  I have no idea who this letter was from or what they are about.  I’m assuming good intentions – that prior to the pandemic, they would have come to my door to talk with me in person.  Maybe the sender is bed-ridden or confined to their home for some reason, and they feel like this is their only opportunity to “minister” to others in their community.

But even after assuming all the possible “good” scenarios that could have brought this anonymous card to my mailbox, I had several emotions…but none of them were a sense of “feeling loved”.

We can all agree that the world is a messed up, broken place.  We can also agree that no one is perfect, and that we’ve all contributed to the mess we find ourselves living in.  However, let’s be black-and-white honest here, there is no middle ground when it comes to Christianity – either the gospel message is true or it’s not.

Christianity claims:
The God and Creator of the Universe came to earth 2,000 years ago to once and for all fix the relationship between God and humanity.  Jesus made the outlandish claim that He would guarantee Eternal Life to anyone who believed in Him for it.  When He died on a cross, He took the punishment for all of humanity’s mess and imperfections…He paid the price for our sin.  With justice served, sin was no longer a barrier for an individual’s relationship with God.  Then, three days later, He came back to life – which proves He can follow through on His offer of Eternal Life for anyone who believes in Him for it.

Or:
Some guy named Jesus lived 2,000 years ago, got blamed for insurrection against the Roman empire, was executed, and people made up a story about him being alive again.

My point is that either Christianity has the most important message in history to share with humanity, or it’s worth bupkis.  There is no middle ground.  And…IF you believe the first, IF you have believed in Jesus for the Eternal Life that He alone can offer: Why not sign your name (or your church’s name) to the card you took the time to mail to my house?

I have no issue with Christians reaching out to those who don’t know them personally.  Did you know that the apostle Paul once wrote to a group of believers that he hadn’t met before?  Here’s what he told them:

Colossians 2:1-3
For I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person.  I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery – Christ.  In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul wrote for their encouragement and love…and he was willing to sign his name on it.  Since I have already believed in Jesus for Eternal Life, I can empathize with the person who sent me the anonymous card…but if I didn’t know anything about Jesus or if the Christian church had burned me at some point in my past – how “loved” would I feel by an anonymous card with a gospel track stuffed inside?  Why would I believe something that another person wasn’t willing to identify themselves with?

Christians, as ambassadors for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:20) we should be willing to put our name on everything we do.  Our message won’t be believed otherwise.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Jesus the evangelist

We’ve learned a lot by looking closely at the parts of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.  However, as good Bible students, we now need to step back and look at the whole conversation.  Whenever we zoom into parts of a passage to dig into and digest the details, our best next step is to zoom out and look at the big picture.

So, let’s reflect on Jesus’ encounter with the woman.  He met her where she was, not chastising and not condescending.  Jesus initiated the conversation, but allowed her space to participate.  He was also patient with her incomplete answers, misguided thoughts, and ill-informed religious traditions.  Jesus definitely provides us with a beautiful example of how to go about 1:1 evangelism.

So, how did Jesus evangelize?  What, according to Jesus, is the “salvation message”?

The biggest observation from their discussion is that Jesus directly revealed Himself as the Messiah – He didn’t do that with the Jews.  Over their recent centuries, the Jewish people had been battered around and taken advantage of by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and, most recently, the Romans.  As such, the Jews were expecting a Messiah who would come in and fix everything.  They assumed the first step in doing so would be to start the revolution to liberate Israel.  They were not expecting Jesus to come on the scene like He did, and as such, many in Israel had difficulty accepting Him as Messiah.  This is the reason why Jesus taught in parables and performed miracles among them – they needed to work through His teachings and signs to come to the conclusion that Jesus really was the God-promised Messiah.  The teachings and parables were Jesus’ way of circumventing the Jews’ preconceived expectations.

This Samaritan woman, however, would have had no access to His teaching in the Jewish country, nor would she have been able to witness His miracles.  So Jesus directly introduced Himself.  Look closely at the claims Jesus made in His conversation with her:

He claimed to be the gift of God:
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you…” (John 4:10)

He claimed to be the one who quenches thirst:
“But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again…” (John 4:14)

He claimed to be the one who gives eternal life:
“In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.” (John 4:14)

He claimed that He is the Messiah:
“I, the one speaking to you, am He” (John 4:26)

But did you notice what Jesus did not say to her? 

She didn’t know of His death on the cross, burial, or resurrection (because those things hadn’t happened yet).  She wasn’t required to confess all her sins, or commit her life to Christ, or repent of her sins.  She didn’t promise to stop living with the guy who wasn’t her husband before Jesus accepted her belief in Him.  Her current sinful lifestyle and previous life choices did not prevent her from believing in Jesus as the Messiah.  There were lots of things, facts, and theological concepts she didn’t know…but that didn’t stop Jesus from giving her eternal life the moment she believed in Him as Messiah/Savior.

Jesus offered the woman eternal life if she believed in Him as the Messiah.  But note – and this is a HUGE observation – Jesus’ offer to her is before the cross happens.  Jesus offered her eternal life right then, knowing that He would eventually remove the sin barrier that keeps all of us from being in relationship with God.  But the woman (and later, the townspeople) knew nothing of the cross and how Jesus’ death on it would declare them legally righteous before God.  The only thing they knew was Jesus – and they believed in Him for eternal life.  Because of their belief in Him, they had it. 

This might feel like we’re treading into controversial waters, but let’s think this through together:

The standard, modern gospel message – that Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross as a substitute for our well-deserved sin penalty, and that He rose again on the 3rd day – is good news…but being introduced to these facts will not save us or bring us into God’s family.  This good news should be what persuades us that Jesus is the Messiah and that He has the power/authority to give us eternal life, if we believe in Him for it.  Remember, the Samaritans didn’t know any of what we would consider the “standard gospel message”…and yet, Jesus gave them eternal life. 

Therefore, the reason we are saved is because we believe in Jesus for eternal life.  Knowing facts about Jesus and His life may help convince us, turning from sin may change our path and bring us closer to belief in Him, and there will be new desires and actions to come from our future relationship with Him…but the central, saving message of Jesus is that one drink of His free-gift living water, one act of belief in Him, gives us eternal life.

John 4:14
“But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again.  In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”

Do you believe in Jesus for eternal life?  If so, you have it.  Because Jesus the evangelist said so.

Keep Pressing,
Ken