The other day I was trying to tweet a quote by one of the most renowned Christian authors, C.S. Lewis. But alas, it was way over the 140-character limit and shortening it wasn’t an option. Cutting out any words or shortening to text slang wouldn’t have done the powerful quote justice. I was frustrated. And then I thought: How many times do we try to do this to the gospel? How many times do we try to fit it into a brochure or a three-step process?
Born, died, risen. To “Christians”, this might sound like a good summation. They might say, “Yeah, that sums it up.” But to a Christian in love with Jesus, they would see those three steps and cringe. There is so much more to the gospel. There is so much more to the love story than what you can fit into a brochure or a 140-character tweet. That is why I’m going on this race.
You see, Jesus didn’t say, “Okay guys, print off 1,000 of those brochures, stuff ‘em in those bibles, and mail ‘em out.” He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:19-20) This means he wanted our discipleship to be personal, to be face to face.
I am a self-proclaimed over-communicator. When I go into explaining myself or my feelings…I can’t shut up because I want you to GET IT. When I was in highschool I would go on and on about the guy I liked to my best friend and she’d listen intently (thanks, Sam) to every word. I’d finally stop, only to start five minutes later when I thought of something new to say. This is how we should be about Jesus. His love for us and our love for him should flow from our mouths so freely and often because, “from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks”(Luke 6:45).
I’m going on this race so that the children I have an opportunity to love on will GET IT. I’m going on this race so that the prostitutes I will be able to speak with will GET IT. And hopefully by reading my blog, supporting me through prayer and, if the Lord wills, through giving you will get it to. And through your support I will understand His love for me (or be completely in awe of it) even more.
