“… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:16 NIV)
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
(Romans 10:13-15)
Our annual Trunk-or-Treat event is fast approaching. I know not every believer rests in the same camp regarding the holiday of Halloween. At Agapé, we choose to leverage the culture’s festivities for the work of the Gospel. Should our neighbors visit our campus as they escort their children about our community, they will not only receive our kind welcome and sweet treats but the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s not just about being a nice presence in our community. It’s about another opportunity to share the Word of Life. In every bag, basket, and backpack we place the New Testament book of Mark.
It is important for believers to be nice. But we cannot live under the illusion that our niceness alone will lead anyone to salvation. Paul paraphrases Isaiah 52 in the passage above saying, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!” Our niceness can aid in beautifying our feet as we walk out the Gospel and share it with our peers and neighbors. Too often believers more easily embody the chorus of the famous Nancy Sinatra song: “These boots are made for walkin', And that's just what they'll do, One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” We can figuratively stomp around our subdivisions, apartment complexes, two lanes, and social media scrolls oblivious to the fact that we are crushing our neighbors’ toes causing them to wince instead of wonder at the consistent love and mercy of Christ.
May we allow the Holy Spirit to inspire us toward intentional niceness, kindness, and generosity that He may open the ears, eyes, and hearts of those yet to believe as we confidently share with them His story and how His story has changed our story forever.
We still need plenty of folks to volunteer their time and their trunks for our holiday event! Sign up online or in our lobby.
We still need mounds and mounds of candy to give away with the Gospel! Drop some by the church.
“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
(1 Corinthians 15:2-4 NIV)
