Sharing God’s Goodness
Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. (Psalm 103:22)
People who have experienced God’s goodness, share God’s goodness. At least, this is certainly true of David in Psalm 103. In this song, King David recounts all the kindness of God in his own life and in the life of Israel through the years. David overflows with gratitude to God, and by the end of the Psalm he is calling upon the entire cosmos to worship him (vv.20-22)! It’s as if David was so overwhelmed by the goodness of God that he wasn’t satisfied with worshipping by himself. He wanted everyone to know and love and worship this amazing God as well! This is a great example for us. For we only need to stare at the cross for a little while to grasp the mercy and grace and goodness of God in our own lives.
So, how should we respond to this? Well, we should respond like David. People who have experienced God’s goodness, share God’s goodness. So, what I would like to do with the remainder of this blog is to equip you to share God’s goodness with others. There are all sorts of ways to present the gospel (the good news about Jesus) to others. If you’re looking for resource to help you do this, Sam Chan’s new book ‘Evangelism in a Skeptical World’ is absolutely fantastic. I’m going to be relying on his book in this blog, but I’m not going to enter into the topic with the depth that he does. In this blog, I simply want to encourage those of us who are new to this to begin by crafting our own story/testimony that we can share with others. This is one of the most natural and conversational ways that we can share gospel truths with others.
So, here are some things you might want to think about in preparing your story. Take some time to think through this, write your story down, and you will have a basic framework to use the next time one of your friends asks, ‘Why are you different”, or ‘Why do you go to church?”. Here are the steps that Chan gives in crafting your testimony:
- Introduction: I am [describe yourself], and my mission is to [state your mission]. [Then give an example].
- Body: So I tried to achieve my mission in these ways: [give examples]. But [now explain the problem of trying to achieve your mission without God]. For example, [now give an example].
- Bridge: But this is what Jesus has done for me. [Explain how Jesus fulfils your mission.]
- Climax: That’s when I decided [explain how you decided to follow Jesus].
- Conclusion: So now [explain what living with Jesus looks like in your life now]. [Then give an example].
Here is my attempt to give you an idea of what this looks like (without including quite as many examples as Chan suggests):
My name is Ben. I grew up with and without a Christian influence in my life. What I mean is, half of my childhood I was in church, the other half I was not involved at all. I got the idea, however, that following God was about being good enough. So, I was constantly trying to please God and others.
I tried my very best to do this. I was a high-achieving student as I began middle school and always tried to be good to others. But, I never felt good enough. In fact, I only found my peers rejecting me more because they saw me as a ‘goody two-shoes’. For example, I remember being called a ‘try-hard’ for getting an ‘A’ in an assignment in grade 7. I ended up choosing to please my peers instead of my teachers, and abandoned my attempts at ‘being good’ or achieving grades. But, I still felt just as empty. I found that the love of my peers didn’t fill me and I felt more guilty before God than ever before.
So, I ended up going to a conference in grade 11 and I heard that Jesus pleased God on my behalf. That he fulfilled everything that God required of me. That, because of Jesus, God’s love for me was not dependent upon my moral performance. I decided to trust in Jesus for this and I felt freedom and joy like I’d never felt before.
Now, I wake up reminding myself that God is well-pleased with me because of Jesus. Now, I don’t have to please others and I can make the right decisions even when others don’t like them. Jesus has changed my life!
Every blessing as you build relationships and share God’s goodness with others.
Your Brother,
Ben
