Be a Gospel-Sharer
Joy is deeper than the universe, and therefore it is always worth sharing. We are (and are called to be) joy-sharers. But now let’s connect that to our mission as Christians.
We have seen that Jesus came from joy and he was headed back to joy, and his mission was to bring his church back with him. And the commission he gives us mirrors his own. We also go from joy to joy, to bring with us all who will come along the way.
I think of a quote I read years ago from British missiologist, Lesslie Newbigin. He writes in The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society,
There has been a long tradition which sees the mission of the church primarily as obedience to a command. It has been customary to speak of “the missionary mandate.” This way of putting the matter is certainly not without justification, and yet it seems to me that it misses the point. It tends to make mission a burden rather than a joy, to make it part of the law rather than part of the gospel.
If one looks at the New Testament evidence one gets another impression. Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be told. Who could be silent about such a fact? … At the heart of mission is thanksgiving and praise. . . . When it is true to its nature, it is so to the end. Mission is an acted out doxology. That is its deepest secret. Its purpose is that God may be glorified.
It’s remarkable that Newbigin links our joy and God’s glory as the heart of Christian mission.
He says that mission is “a kind of explosion of joy” — and by that he means gospel-sharing starts as joy-sharing. The first step of announcing the gospel is the sheer joy of its truth, as Peter explains in Acts 4:20, “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” The crucified Messiah is risen from the dead! The suffering servant reigns as Lord of all! Newbigin agrees with Peter: “It must be told.” Gospel-sharing is joy-sharing.
And then Newbigin adds, “Mission is an acted out doxology.” The sharing of the joy, of the gospel, is a kind of thanksgiving and praise. It is our expression of value toward the joy and its source, which is literally worship. It is glorifying God.
Deepening Joy, Magnifying Glory
You might think of C. S. Lewis here in his Reflections on the Psalms. He explains, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” Sharing the joy (or praising it) is inherent to the joy itself, almost as a kind of deepening.
So in our announcement of the gospel, as a sharing of our joy, we glorify God and deepen our joy. Or we might put it: because gospel sharing is joy sharing, when we share the gospel we glorify God by deepening our joy.
Regardless of who might hear and how they respond, it’s our very telling of the gospel in the spirit of joy that magnifies the glory of God, and also takes us deeper into the experience of joy, which then magnifies the glory of God even more. Try it.
(Stay at)Homework for You
A few weeks ago there were several of us who participated in the #JesusChangedMyLife initiative on social media. Thousands of Christians all over the country posted short videos of themselves sharing how the gospel collided with their stories and made all the difference. I watched a lot of them, and it was wonderful, and though the initiative has since ended, the practice still endures. Knowing our stories and what Jesus has done for us is important for every Christian.
How well acquainted are you with how Jesus changed your life? When you think about your life, what are the particulars that come to mind in light of the gospel? Can you recite, even if just quietly to yourself, what Jesus has done for you?
You don’t have to bother with posting it anywhere, but I encourage you to rehearse the gospel and it’s impact on your life in this way. Work at describing it in just a few minutes. For the sake of your own joy. Which will want to be shared. Which will glorify God.
