Verses for the World to Read

I realize that I am probably one of only 5 people who read the Faith & Religion section of the Sunday paper. Most of the time the articles aren't worth my energy to turn the page because they are so bland, and by necessity (being the newspaper) universalistic. But the feature this last week seemed very interesting to me, but I was left extremely sad.

The feature was about local religious leaders' favorite passages of scripture. It wasn't focused on Christian leaders, for the local Muslim and Christian Science leaders were included also...and that's OK. But what I was hoping to read from the Christian ones was a brief synopsis of the gospel. I mean, come on, the newspaper is calling you and asking you for a verse that could be read by potentially thousands of people (well, at least 5)! Make it count! They were even given a couple sentences to follow up their choice. But do you know what the vast majority of the verses were about? They were the "feel good" verses about God, you know, the ones about Him never leaving us, giving us strength, love people and be unified. Now hear me, all scripture is God's Word and inspired and worth more than any human wisdom could ever muster. But my point is, when you have the opportunity, share a passage that talks about God's plan in saving us through Jesus, you know - the gospel. It made me smile that the one who hit it most on the head with the opportunity was my favorite public access pastor who plays the ukulele. He shared Acts 2:38 - that we need to Jesus to save us and we need to believe in Him - and briefly said how that verse changed his life. Well, done Pastor Hart!

In a day and age where universalism and relativism grow in strength, when we as Christ-followers get a chance to go very public with Jesus, we need to take full opportunity and do so. Much like when my friend Pastor Mark Driscoll got invited to preach at the Crystal Cathedral. You probably can't find two churches that are more different regarding certain theology, philosophy, and ecclesiology, but Mark saw it as an opportunity to preach to MILLIONS about the gospel. So he did. You can watch that here.

Paul encourages us to "make the most of our time" in Ephesians 5:16, and Peter tells us to "always be prepared to give an answer" about Jesus when asked in 1 Peter 3:15. And remember that Jesus Himself called those who follow Him a "city on a hill" in Matthew 5:14. We need to stand up and stand out, gently lighting the way for people to Jesus specifically, not just some different "religious" alternative.

You may be wondering what my favorite verse is that I'd like to share with the world, at least my wife did when I was talking with her about this. Mine would be John 19:30, which record Jesus' last words before he died on the cross: "It is finished." I want people to know that it's not their efforts or morality that make them right with God, it is only the work that Jesus has done and we just need to trust Him.

The full SJ-R feature can be found here.