Devotion #5: Preach Jesus, Preach Jesus, Preach Jesus

If you have ever spent time in conversation with me, then you know I often speak about my father and the impact he had on my faith. In fact, I mention him so frequently that a friend once made a playful wager with his son about how long it would take for me to bring up the subject of my dad in a recent sermon I shared at Grand Blanc (the answer: not long). In all seriousness, though, my dad was a gifted evangelist, and God used him greatly to shape my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus in faith and obedience. 

However, as a teenager, my dad’s relentless evangelism used to drive me crazy. He would talk to anyone about Jesus - whether it was the waitress at a restaurant or the person taking our movie tickets. Ashamedly, I admit that at the time, it always felt over the top and awkward. In my youthful, spiritually immature opinion, I just wanted to experience normal, quiet days without feeling like I was part of his public “outreach program.” 

What I did not understand then, and what I understand now, is that my dad was not being annoying. Rather, he was living out his true calling. You see, in his late 20s, he had been radically transformed by Jesus and deeply embraced the words of Jesus in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” After surrendering his life to Jesus, my dad saw the world with new, spiritual eyes, understanding that every person’s need for the Gospel was great. As a result, he responded to God’s call to preach the hope of the Gospel wherever he went and to whomever he came into contact with. 

In Romans 10:14, Paul asks, “How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” The Gospel does not reach the lost unless believers, who have likewise been made new by it, share it. Just like my dad, all of us who follow Jesus are called to be such messengers. God’s desire is for the world to hear the Good News of Jesus. He has called us into partnership with Christ to share His message. 

For a while, I resisted this truth. I did not want to be like my dad, always talking about Jesus. However, I now see that his devotion was not a burden. It was a privilege! The more I grow in my love for and devotion to Jesus, the more I want to be like my dad, boldly proclaiming the Gospel and faithfully sharing the Good News with anyone, anytime. As Paul says in Ephesians 4:13, we are all called to grow “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” and that includes sharing the Gospel wherever we go. 

So, let us follow this call together. Let us preach Jesus at all times, to all people. My desire these days is to have the same passion and boldness that my father had. Better still, I desire to have the same passion and boldness of Jesus, so that I may preach His message of salvation with urgency until Jesus returns.