Passionately Sharing Jesus

[James Nored]

This Sunday I am speaking on "Passionately Sharing Jesus," which is part of our vision statement. We can "share Jesus," but what does it mean to "passionately" share Jesus?

 

Passionately sharing Jesus implies that there are other ways that Jesus can be shared. Jesus can be shared out of duty, out of obligation, or out of response to a command. These are not bad motivations. We have been commanded by Jesus to "go, make disciples" (Mt. 28:18-20). But is there more to our motivation and drive than this? Surely so, or the New Testament would would be a very short book. And on a practical level, ask your wife--would she rather have a husband who stays in the marriage and treats her well out of obligation, or would she rather have a husband who does these things because he feels obligated and is also passionate about her?

 

Even with our kids we tell them to do something and then we tell them, "and put a smile on your face!" How we do something not only helps or hinders us in our motivation, it also helps or hinders our effectiveness.

Webster's online dictionary defines passion in several ways:

1. The sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death
2. Intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction
3. A strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept

Originally, the word passion came from the Greek word, pascho, which means "to suffer." Suffering is an intense feeling, and eventually the word apparently came to refer to an intense, overwhelming feeling or drive that could also be good.

 

There is likely a link between suffering and this strong, emotional drive for good. Jesus, for instance, suffered greatly in his "passion"--the time between the Last Supper and his death. He suffered betrayal, loneliness, humiliation, pain, and death. He was under such great strain in the Garden of Gethsemane the night of his betrayal that he wept tears of blood. He suffered spiritually as he was separated from God on the cross as he took on the sins of the world.

 

What motivated Jesus to go through all of his suffering? He utterly devoted to God the Father and to us. He had an intense love for us and for the Father that gave him strength to carry out his mission. In fact, the writer of Hebews said that Jesus "learned obedience from what he suffered." Passion is a great motivating force for good. Without this intensity and drive, we can become lax, easily distracted, or ineffective in what we are seeking to do.

 

I would contend that the strongest passion comes from a combination of love and suffering. Love is both a commitment to seek another's good as well as, most often, an intense feeling of affection towards someone. When we love and feel loved, we will "walk a thousand miles" for anyone--even go to the cross for them. And a huge motivation for us can be the desire to stop or spare a loved one from suffering. Our own experience of suffering can also motivate us in new ways, just as Jesus' suffering motivated him towards greater levels of obedience to the Father.

 

So, how then does this relate to sharing Jesus? When we look in the New Testament, we see the natural, spontaneous expansion of the church. It is interesting that the Great Commission is never quoted in the New Testament. The people must have had a fuller motivation for sharing Jesus with people than just obligation to follow a command to share Jesus. This fuller motivation was their love for God and love for others--a lifestyle that was first modeled by Jesus. The early church could not help but talk about Jesus with their children, loved ones, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. And the early church suffered intensely, facing persecution. But as they were persecuted, they took the message of Jesus with them wherever they went (Acts 8:1f). Rather than suffering and persecution causing them to shut down their sharing, it "intensified" their sharing of Jesus. 

 

When things are going great, it is easy to "coast" in our Christian walk. But during difficult times, we must rely upon God and think about and struggle with what it means to follow God in a broken world. There is no doubt that our nation is going through difficult times. There is not doubt that so many families and individuals are as well. But if we will stay connected to God and each other, out of this wellspring of love and suffering can come a more intense, passionate sharing of Jesus than we have ever had before. And I am seeing signs of this type of "grassroots" revival happen in many families and individuals, in churches and in our nation, as people's difficult times have made them cherish and love God, their church family, and those around them more than ever.

 

Let's not just share Jesus. Let's passionately share him. Let's burn so brightly in our families, in our churches, and in our neighborhoods that we truly are a light to the world. 

 

What do you think accounts for the lack of passion in sharing Jesus that we often see? How can this be changed?

 

 

 

 

 

[Bill Bowman]

It may be too extreme to say that the  Great Commission was never used from Acts to Revelation.  In principle I believe 2 Timothy 2:2 used the Great Commission: "And the things you heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."