“There’s good news and bad news,” the preacher said one Sunday morning.
“The good news is we have all the money we need to pay for our new building project.” The congregation applauded with excitement. “The bad news is,” he continued, “it’s still in your pockets.”
That’s an old preacher joke that makes most people in the pews chuckle.
When we pray to God, we expect God to hear us. That means we trust God to act. Just how God moves through prayer is left up to the Lord, but our trust is there nonetheless. But we also know God has expectations for us as well.
Can God trust us with kingdom ministry?
You don’t get to decide if God does. The Lord has already given each of us a ministry of reconciliation. What’s left to decide is how faithful you are going to be with it.
What are you doing with the spiritual gifts God gave you? How are you advancing the kingdom wherever you are? The good news is God brings hope and peace to people. The bad news is God often does that through us.
Now, once you see that God is willing to trust us with ministry, your attitude about it changes. Would you let just anyone house sit for you? Of course not. You want to make sure your home is in good hands.
When Christ ascended, he left us his ministry. What God gave to him he gifted to us. That is not bad news. That is a loving act of a loving God. God trusts us with his redeeming work.
He knew full well how we could mess things up. Glance through Christian history and you’ll wonder why he’d let us anywhere near his church. But he does.
Jesus promised his disciples they would not be orphaned. He would return to the Father but that didn’t mean they would be alone. The good news is Judas wanted to know how the world would know Jesus loved them. That’s a message worth sharing, right? This is the other Judas who asked, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
Jesus didn’t answer him directly. Instead, he said that those who love him will keep his commands. Also, the Holy Spirit would teach and remind the disciples what they need to say when the time came. All this is Jesus preparing the disciples for the bad news.
How will Christ reveal himself to the world? Through his disciples.
People who follow Jesus show the world what Jesus looks like. So, give ’em good news.
Stay blessed…john
