The key to Christian living is a thirst and hunger for God. And one of the main reasons people do not understand or experience the sovereignty of grace and the way it works through the awakening of sovereign joy is that their hunger and thirst for God is so small. ~ John Piper

 

 

John 20

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. 

 

 

I don't think overstating to say that we live in a culture where plenty of people hunger for some solid foundation on which they can ground their lives and some sense of hope amidst the ever increasing challenges of our contemporary world. Whether persons admit their need or not, I believe it is there. I think cultural data verifies this.

 

In this passage from the Gospel of John we find the Risen Christ telling the disciples that he is ready to send them into the world that they might share the profound truths of God and his person and teachings. I preached on evangelism on January 22 and would say again today that Christ calls each of us to be his witnesses in the world.

 

I understand that the average Christian, as I noted in that sermon, is highly reticent to share his or her faith (and we're addressing that in our Tuesday night study on Learning To Share Your Faith which began on January 31). At the same time, I can assure you that Christ needs you and is calling you to some act of witness in the lives of people whom you regularly encounter. Perhaps you could reflect on these possibilities:    

• Maybe there's some person needing healing of spirit and God wants you to be the one to bring hope and healing to that person - with simple words of caring and kindness or some overt expression of support;
• Perhaps there is some situation requiring moral courage and God wants you to be the one to stand for what is right in the midst of immorality - though certainly humbly;
• Maybe some person is open to hearing about the Christian faith and you are the one God wants to use to share about the faith, simply by just telling what God has done and is doing in your life or by simply inviting that person to Church;
• Perhaps there's someone who needs to know that he or she can find forgiveness for what he or she has done and you're the one God wants to bring the word of His forgiving grace;
• Maybe there's someone you encounter who can see no good in life and you can humbly but willingly share where you find good and blessing evident.

In these moments and manifold others which you encounter, God is ready to use you to be a seed planter of His love, grace, and promises!