A Matter of First Importance...

When you see a good movie do you want to tell someone about it? When you read a good book do you look for opportunities to recommend it to others? Have you ever eaten at an incredible restaurant, one you’ve just discovered, and then shared it with your co-workers as a matter of ‘first importance’ the next morning? Why is it when we find pleasure or success we want to share it with those around us?

My wife and I discovered a new restaurant recently. The food is absolutely first-class. Since my first visit to that restaurant I’ve recommended it to more people than I can remember and I’ve recounted, to those same people, the enjoyment I’d found there.

This morning I stopped and I thought. Have I been as diligent about sharing Christ as I have about singing the praises of a quality eatery? Have I shared, with others, the life changing power of God’s love and grace thorough Jesus Christ as often as I have the message of good home-cooked food and handmade deserts at this newly discovered restaurant? The sad truth is, probably not.

Why does it often appear that the newest box office smash is more exciting to us than the promise of eternal life? Why will we talk about a slick video clip used in the morning service, yet have trouble remembering the sermon text past Sunday lunch? How is it that we are more likely to share, with others, a newfound culinary establishment rather than invite our non-Christian neighbor to church with us? Why can’t we see past the ‘here and now’ of this world and see things more clearly from an eternal perspective?

If I asked you which is more important, our fleshly existence or our eternal spiritual condition you would, most likely, without fail, tell me the spiritual always takes precedent over the fleshly. Yet it’s obvious we treasure the things of this world. Have we taken God and his promises for granted? Have we allowed ourselves to take on an ‘every-man-for –himself’ mentality when it comes to Christianity? Once we accepted and received God’s free gift of salvation did we simply become too complacent to share our excitement with others?

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” A better translation of the beginning of that scripture would be “As you go...” Jesus never questioned whether or not we would go. He knew we would go every day. He knew we would go to work, go to school, go to the mall and go home. In Jesus’ mind ‘going’ wasn’t the issue – the issue was what would we do as we were going?

We make announcements of new movies, restaurants and vacation spots a matter of ‘first importance’. The Apostle Paul said, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

I like to share with others. I don’t like to keep good news to myself. There is no better news than that of Christ’s sacrifice for us, over 2000 years ago, even while we continued to sin. In my life, I need to make the message of Jesus Christ a matter of first importance.