Maybe it’s because I majored in English in college, but a lot of what I notice in Nepal has to do with language. In my last post I talked about how Christians here pray to “The God.” I think that is due to living in a culture where people worship many gods. I’m not sure what to attribute this next linguistic nuance to, but I think the Nepalese might get this one right.
The other day I came out of my room to find our host talking with one of the daughters of the Hindu family with which we are staying. I sat down to join the conversation, and he told me he was “gospeling” her, as in he was sharing the gospel with her. I’ve heard him use the word like this more than once, and it strikes me as beautiful every time.
Gospel is a verb, and it is also his dog’s name. For this Nepali family, the gospel is more than just how they refer to the first four books of the New Testament. It’s more than just a churchy term they throw around when they want to sound devout. To them, it’s a way to do life. It is what they do. They gospel this community. They share the good news, which is what gospel literally means. That’s their mission, and they take it seriously.
To be honest, I have always struggled with sharing the gospel. Well, maybe not always. I remember when I was little being challenged in children’s church to tell one of my friends about Jesus. I remember talking to her on the playground and leading her in the prayer to accept Christ. At six years old, I could do that. What has changed over the past twenty-one years?
I think it has something to do with experiencing rejection, or at least the fear of that experience. As I grew older, I learned more about the world and how people can be. I learned that it’s best not to be different if you want to fit in. I learned it’s best not to make anyone uncomfortable by talking about things like politics or religion. I told myself that just living my life was a testimony, and I talked about my faith if someone else brought it up first.
In reality, I was trying to make myself feel better about forsaking the Great Commission. Jesus told us, commanded us, to go out and make disciples. He didn’t say make them ask you for the Good News. He told us to take it to them. On my prayer cards that I sent out with fundraising letters and thank you notes, I included this verse:
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” – Romans 10:14-15
And it was kind of prophetic because my dad prayed the verse from Isaiah that quote is taken from over me at launch. My Nepali family is teaching me what it means to gospel, to step out in faith and share the good news that Jesus loved the person in front of me enough to die for them and to show them what that love looks like in action. That’s good news! That’s the gospel! Here in Nepal, and now in my heart, it is a verb.
