One of the greatest challenges of evangelization in the modern age is the reality that that almost everyone has already heard of Jesus Christ – at least they think they have. Our 21st-century eyes tell us that the angel who shared the news of the birth of Jesus with the shepherds had a pretty easy job. All he had to do was announce it.
Our baptism compels us to do the same…to announce the coming of Christ over and over again…everywhere. The big difference is that our audience is not a group of illiterate shepherds in ancient Judea. Our audience is a world that has heard so much about Jesus they often claim weariness at the mention of His name. So what do we do and how do we do it? If we walked into a crowd of strangers and tell them we want to talk to them about Jesus, most likely, their reaction would be something like, “I already know about Jesus, thanks,” or “I’ve heard of Him and based on the behavior of those who choose to follow Him, I’m not interested in hearing anymore.”
How we announce His salvation becomes very important. We announce it in our actions toward strangers. We announce it in our treatment of others who have wronged us. We announce it in our interactions with those who disagree with us. We announce it in everything we do.
The Israelites had been foretold of the coming of the Messiah for so long, that many of them despaired in His coming. So God gave them a sign: “You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Now, we are the sign. The world has heard of Christ by now but have they all seen Him? It is our job show them, to be the sign. How will you show them?
Many of the thoughts are from an article written by Tracy Earl Welliver
