The First Type of Evangelism, part III

In the part one of this ongoing series, we talked about the Shema Yisrael and its connection to what Jesus Christ calls the first and greatest commandment. In part two, we discussed evangelism in general and the dangers of over-simplifying the Gospel. Today, I wanted to go in a slightly different direction and talk about marriage as a form of evangelism. But before we can do that, we need to lay a little more ground work.

We are spiritual beings, and that’s important to remember, if for no other reason than the fact that we are constantly forgetting it. And it’s so easy to do. We wake up in the morning, and the first things we are faced with are the pressing demands of our bodies.

“To the bathroom,” screams our body, “but you should also start the coffee. Also, how about some breakfast? I’m thinking sausage and pancakes and maybe some eggs… Or a bagel!!! One of those asiago cheese thingies with bacon scallion cream cheese… But first, I need a shower, and a good gargle or two — what did I eat before I went to bed?!? — and by the way, HOW’S THAT COFFEE COMING?!?!”

The rest of the day isn’t much better. In fact, if you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself with your head on a pillow and your eyes tightly closed and you will not have stopped to think a consciously Christian thought since you first opened them that morning. But we are spiritual beings. I want to keep saying that throughout this post, coming back to it as the central thought. We are spiritual, and what’s more, this world is spiritual as well.

Take a second and read the words of Hebrews 11:3

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Think about that for a minute: the worlds themselves were framed by the words of God, and the visible things of this world are not made of visible things. This world is a spiritual world, and the things that God has made all point back to who He is. Psalm 19 says: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day utterest speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. If the heavens declare the glory of God, how much more so should we, who are made in His image?

Tomorrow, I want to talk about some of the specific examples of how we are to be a living message of God to this world, how we are made Father and Son, Husband and Wife, Brother and Sister, so that we may better understand our Heavenly Father and the relationship that we have with him as children, so that we can both understand and proclaim to the world, how Christ loves His bride the Church and so we might remind ourselves from time to time how we should love our Christian brethren. But today, I want to remind you that we are spiritual beings living in a spiritual world, and that we have a responsibility to live like it.

Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
(2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

As always, comments are welcome.