While reading in Galatians this morning, God placed it big time on my heart to share the contents of chapter one, where Paul, by writing a letter to the church in Galatia, shares his testimony with the intention of reenforcing the importance of the gospel and encouraging the true kingdom of God to prosper all over the world.
In verse ten Paul emphasizes that the gospel is the only one and points out the selflessness of the message of Christ by saying, 'Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ'. Evangelism should be a selfless act, with the full intention of pleasing the Lord, not men, and furthering the kingdom.
Paul writes in verses eleven through twelve, 'I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel that is preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ'. When I first read this, I wondered why Paul included it in the letter in the first place. I mean, yes, I know the gospel is from a divine place. I would think that it would have to be so that a message of truth could be from a place of beauty, truth, and perfection in order to be a message worthy and able to save all of humanity (or even one person). I realized though that here Paul is writing with a purpose (is he ever not?) and emphasizing the importance of the gospel. Paul is pulling rank by saying his credentials are not from a human source. God himself appointed Paul an apostle. Basically Paul's point is that if his message is only human, it is worthless, but if it is from God-and as Christians we believe it is-it is worth everything. This should be inspiring as well as a bit of a wake up call to the church who are to be the hands and feet of Jesus! Do we share the Good News as though we know it is worth everything? It's the best message we could tell the world, and through evangelism new believers and disciples can be raised up for future generations.
In the next section of the chapter, in verses thirteen through twenty-four, (all in chapter one, folks-there is just so much to take from the Bible!) Paul shares his testimony to emphasize the importance of the gospel. This act of his speaks more loudly to me than anything he's done so far, because it is so vulnerable and honest. He is opening up his heart to share how the world broke him and how God restored him all because he understands the furthering of God's kingdom is more important than his pride, image, and self. Often when we share our testimonies, they can speak truth into the lives of others because they are a direct picture of how God moves in the lives of people. They also can't be denied, which is the beauty of it all, really. Who can deny what a person has done, especially if it is coming from the mouth of that person, and who can deny a full turn around from a life of sin to a life of goodness? Who can deny that God works in people and intentionally intervenes in a persons life?
One last point: circumstance. Evangelism is not always easy, and in fact I'd say it's usually more intimidating or challenging than not. This is where I see most a parallel in plants and a human life. Plants, under any circumstance, are able to share seeds of their own (Seeds to plants are viewed here as testimonies to people) in order to further the number of plants on the earth. Here are ways I see seed dispersal in plants paralleling to evangelism in Christians:
Gravity- when plants fall from the original parent plant and spread seeds that way, which occurs after a plant is fairly developed and ready to 'go out into the world', so to speak
Animals- when plants are eaten or taken by other organisms, even being destroyed sometimes, and the seeds are spread through the droppings of that animal later...sorry for that image-yay science?
Force- plants intentionally ejecting their seeds into the world! Go plants, go plants, spreading the kingdom, woo!
Wind- pretty obvious...nature carrying the seeds to other locations
Water- when it acts as a transport to the seeds, often with plants that grow in water already
Parallels to the Christian life, with an emphases on being in college:
Gravity- I see this as the Christian who has grown in Faith and is now ready to take a step and evangelize. A lot of the time this can be a college student who has grown up in the Faith and is now in a new environment, away from the comfort of home or parent, or this could be any believer who is in a situation away from a place of comfort and called to evangelize. Comfortable or not, we are called to speak His name. This takes a lot of trust in the Lord!!
Animals- We are attacked by things of this world and face trials and tribulation, often feeling 'eaten up' or 'destroyed', yet seeds can be dispersed even in these hard times. Evangelism does not take place only in the happy areas of our lives. In college, there is a whole new world of obstacles that can make it hard to even want to share the gospel, but we are called to testify for Christ anyway.
Force- Like plants, we are able to produce seeds from within. Plants use mechanisms called 'seedpods' to eject their seeds, while we are given mouths, hands, eyes, ears, brains, and much else to share our testimony. (Fun fact: functions of the seedpod, which spread seeds, can't take place without the sun, the source of light, working in the plant, and we as people can't spread any Good News without the SON, the source of light, working in our lives...MIND.BLOWN).
Wind- I parallel the wind to the Holy Spirit, which works in us so that we are able to spread seeds and continues working even after we have evangelized. It carries the Good News and the message contained in our testimonies throughout the world and ultimately is a power behind the gospel being spread.
Water- This is the Father God, as I see it. When a plant is growing in water already, it relies on the water to transport the seeds. When a Christian is growing and living in Christ, he or she relies on the Father to spread the gospel. God puts the message where He wants it, often as bodies of water will put seeds where they want them, and God can reach anywhere, often as water can reach the most unlikely places or more obvious ones.
So, some key points in this post are:
- There is no other gospel than that of Jesus Christ
- The Good News is the most important news in the world
- Testimonies speak louder than often we imagine
- Any circumstance can be a way to evangelize-God can work good from anything
- We are called to spread seeds to further the kingdom of God
- Evangelism is a selfless act to be done for the glory of God
One last thought and then I'm finished, because this post is becoming incredibly long and I'm sure you've got better things to do than to sit on your computer and read this on this gorgeous October day: God intends for us to live in Him, grow in Christ, and share His news. When I planted flowers in the front yard, I wanted those flowers to grow and spread seeds so that other flowers could grow, too. God wants the kingdom of His flowers to spread. He wants a beautiful world! He is for us, not against us, and He is intentional, not accidental.
We are more like plants than I've ever realized.
