The Blessing of Sharing

There are a lot of paradoxical statements or concepts in scripture. Sayings like, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." Or, "Blessed are the persecuted..." Like, being persecuted does not in any normal sense sound like a blessing, but in Christ, it is. Another paradox that we face as Christians is the that of humility. Being humble is hard enough in our westernized egocentric, self absorbed culture. How are we supposed to remain humble (James 4:6, 10), while also sharing what God is doing in and through us? (Matt. 5:16) I believe that the clue is in the later, not the former. I think that our understanding of humility is flawed. We have confused humility with timidity and silence, taking scripture further than it is meant. For instance, Matt. 6:3 tells us not to let the left know what right is doing, in other words, don't be boastful about what you do for the Lord. This is a good teaching. But we have distorted it to mean that we should remain quiet about what God is doing in and through his people. We remain silent and refuse to share, out of a false humility. I think that we also use this as our scapegoat to get out of the need to share, to publicly tell our story. But telling the story of what God has done for us and sharing what we witness him doing is paramount to the spread of the gospel and the expansion of the Kingdom of God. The supreme example of this, among Jesus disciples, is seen in Acts 4:20 when Peter and John said, "We cannot stop speaking of what we have seen and heard."

While we certainly don't want to be boastful of what we are doing, we should absolutely be boastful about what God is doing. Someone once told me, "Find out where God is, and go there." When people see and hear God things, they are drawn to it, wherever they find it. Its that part of us, that God-shaped whole that is inside of us, that only he can fill. Like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings is drawn to his "precious" ring; so our souls, which are in the form of God, (Gen. 1:26) - are longing for the things of God.

The outside world is looking in, searching for answers, hoping to find excuses. When lived out properly, the church is a beautiful experiences. It becomes very appealing to those without hope. This is why it is so necessary that we share not only what God is doing and has already done for us but also what he is continually doing in and through you and I. Our story, is the most powerful tool we have as witnesses to the life-changing truth of Jesus. So, I say, share your stories! Share your blessings! Don't boast, don't be shameful and haughty or arrogant and proud, but share. Share and don't stop sharing what you see and hear God doing. When you do, lives will be changed, souls will be saved, our town will be transformed, and the church will multiply.