If you have been fortunate enough to read the gospel of Mark, or any of the four gospels, you know by now that Christianity is not a rigid set of rules. Nor is it some kind of philosophy or mind-set. All four Christian gospels at their core describe a passionate love affair between Jesus Christ and the human race.
Currently most of the passion is on Jesus’ side of the relationship. He continues to be head-over-heels in love with us. Very little of the passion has found it’s way into our collective sub-conscious mind. We, the human race, have been extremely coy and indecisive, but that is bound to change over the course of time.
There is a door, a portal, that exists in the universe, an access panel to a world of unimaginable happiness. The Christian gospel happens to be that door, the single door, the only door, through which Jesus reaches out his hand and introduces himself to all who choose to open that door.
Those who open it will discover Jesus alive and well, trembling with anticipation and excitement, reaching out to take their hand with overflowing warmth and affection, inviting them to come in.
It is easy to see, then, why Jesus is so eager to have his gospel distributed everywhere around the world. He wants to meet each one of us individually and begin the process of wooing us and winning our hearts.
I have described this blossoming love affair in my post A Cosmic Courtship.
Those of us who have met Jesus on the other side of the gospel door, and accepted his proposition, are now absorbed in distributing and presenting the gospel to as many other people as possible. Typically this is done in one of several ways:
- The Missionary Model – taking the gospel where it is not known and transmitting it verbally.
- The Agricultural Model – treating the gospel as if it were a seed to be planted in someone’s life.
- The Incarnational Model – living with other Christians in such a way that the gospel will seem attractive.
- The Political Model – distributing the gospel in an organized and methodical way in order to make Jesus more widely known.
I have decided to adopt the political model for the purposes of this blog. As I mentioned in the sidebar at the left, Christians make up only 30% of the world’s population (as of 2017). The remaining 70%, for one reason or another, have no reasonable hope of ever getting their hands on a copy of the gospel for themselves. For various cultural and/or geographic reasons, the gospel is out of reach for a majority of people around the globe, and even for many people right here in our own country. I hope to make a tiny difference by working to improve that situation.
Can we approach our mission with the same zeal as a political campaigner? From a political strategist’s point of view, 30% of the vote might be considered a reasonable starting position. But a campaign manager would need to greatly expand his voter base if he ever hoped to win an election. In the same way, we Christians need to focus our energy on the ultimate goal, which is a world where every single individual has had the opportunity to meet Jesus personally in the pages of the gospel and consider what he has to offer us.
Recent Posts
Switching Metaphors
Political Baby Steps
The Power To Govern
The New Evangelization
The Missionary Model
The Problem As I See ItIf this is your first encounter with Jesus in the gospel, you would be well advised to seek out a local church where you feel comfortable, and learn all you can from the pastor and the church’s ministry team.
If you are interested in respectful discussions of contemporary religious and cultural issues, the website CERC is a marvelous resource.
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