This is what I told my wife the other day in my reflection on evangelism.  Perhaps this is something you relate to. In todays world of “your truth” and do whatever works for you in can be increasingly difficult to share the gospel with friends and family. 

Loss of Confidence

We don’t want to be criticised as weird, out of step with reality, crazy, or dogmatic. Asserting one single truth is true for everyone is seen to be closed-minded and intolerant. And in todays cancel culture that is the last thing we want to be characterised as.

But at the root of this fear of evangelism I believe is something much larger that is at play in the Western Church – a loss of confidence in the veracity of Jesus Christ.

While we confess that we believe that Jesus died for our sins, our confidence in the truthfulness of that claim is being slowly eroded at. Eroded at by so many forces. Eroded at by friends who poke fun, professors much smarter than we are claiming science is the only way to real truth, a lack of personal experience of the relationship with Jesus Christ, and social media messages that bombard us with alternative truth claims. 

With so much information we are left overwhelmed, confused, and unsteady in our faith, not knowing who is right and what to believe anymore. Trust me, I get it. And this unsteadiness leaves us feeling a little uneasy. We know Christianity is real, at least we are fairly convinced of it, but not so convinced that we go around telling others that they also need to believe in Jesus to be saved.

But if I read the Bible, there is one verse that stands out to me in regards to this idea: John 14:6

The Way

First off, Jesus is the way to the Father. There is no other. This is not easy to accept. And it is a truth that many Christians, including myself, find ourselves wishing was not the case. It would be so much easier if we could all end up in heaven. But unfortunately, this is not what Jesus claims.

The Truth

Secondly, Jesus is the truth. He alone is our compass in this world of misinformation. When we come to be shaken, unsteady and unconvinced of the veracity of Jesus Christ – remind yourself, Jesus is the truth.

The Life

Finally, He is the life. The Good News of Jesus Christ is not just that we will have eternal life with him in heaven, but that we can have new life right here, right now on earth. That we can be part of the beautiful work of building God's Kingdom on earth, and experience the joy, peace and meaning that is found in that.

So my encouragement for you today is this. Sit down, pray with God, and reaffirm the truth’s that you say you confess but perhaps have subconsciously begun to doubt. Jesus is Lord. He is the only way to the Father. His teachings are true. And being a follower of Jesus is the most meaningful life you have. 

Blessings,

Aaron

Video of the Day

Everyday we will include the short of the day, related to the topic of the newsletter. Today: What are the purposes of Spiritual Practices?