A Message That Sends

This past Friday was a good day for me. I ended up going to Roanoke with some folks from the dorm to make a Krispy Kreme run and go see the new Tyler Perry movie, Madea Goes to Jail. I wrestled most of the day with whether I was going to go or not. In the end, I'm glad I went.

The doughnuts were heavenly so I was happy as far as Krispy Kreme went. Now comes the movie. The reason I wrestled with whether to go or not was because I knew the movie wasn't going to be cheap. Basically, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a movie that I didn't really care about seeing. Oh for the summer times when I could go see every movie because they were only 5 dollars. Count your blessings 757 crew.

However, I digress. We eventually made it to the movie. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. And there were definitely a couple of moments from the movie that I learned something. The first one of these lessons is that my roommate is basically a male version of Madea. In my book that itself would deserve a note, but thats not really why I'm writing.

God used the movie to paint a picture of evangelism for me. He used the picture of this woman Christian minister who was ministering to the prostitutes and druggies on the street. She would walk around the streets where she knew where these people would be, hand out condoms and clean needles, and let them know if they needed some help to give her a call.

Now I'm not here to debate wether or not its okay for a Christian to give out this type of stuff. That's not the point in all of this. The point is she was reaching people. This reminds me of a guy I heard talking in ministry convocation a couple of weeks ago. This guy really understood the mission. And he talked numerous times about how we need to "do everything short of sin" to reach the lost. Much like what Paul said we need to "become everything to everyone in order to win a few to Christ". 

I think this type of idea is lost in the Christian church. It seems like we are invited the lost to clean themselves up and come to church to hear the gospel. I don't think that looks like Christ at all. If anything we need to dirty ourselves up a bit and get out there and try to live a life that looks more like Christ every day.

For my Liberty U peeps, this is why I'm trying to move off campus. I don't see how living on campus, being involved in campus activities, and eating most of my meals on campus allows me to reach the lost. Yes, there are lost people on campus. There are also a lot more Christians that need to be reminded of the gospel. So until I do move off campus I realize that God has put me here for a reason.

That's all that I'm really talking about. Understand that God has put you where He has put you for a reason, and that reason is to advance the gospel. If you are not sharing the gospel wherever you are, then you my friend are not living the Christian life. Once you come to taste the joy of salvation day after day you cannot turn back to the old man. Christ's gospel is not a gospel of spiritual gluttony, but it is a gospel that sends. If you are a Christian and you are still alive, you have been sent. The places that you walk everyday make up your mission field. Now go!