Day 2034 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 NIV

Yesterday we talked about how we each have the duty to share God's message of salvation and redemption with those around us. We often shy away from it because it will cause some friction with the rampant sin in this world. So we try to sugar-coat it and make it easier or more comfortable so that we don't rub anyone the wrong way. But the truth is that it's not about offending people or making it easier for them to hear. It's about the power of His truth and its life-changing ability.

We seriously need to stop trying to compress the Gospel into something that our world will accept. I listened to this thing the other night and I was just amazed at how religion is so focused on making it as entertaining as possible. Gotta have big stages, bright lights, fancy tech, famous figures, massive budgets, plenty of games, and never, no matter what you do, never forget the coffee bar!

I think we're rapidly losing sight of the mission and getting lost in the production. Faith isn't there to entertain us. It's not about how big the screen is at your church or how many fancy options you offer to reel people in. This is not the business of entertaining and catering to people's desires. It's about sharing the word of God and pointing others to Him. The moment we start making all this other stuff more important is the moment that we've lost the whole point.

Now I understand that we need to go to the people and never expect them to just come to our faith with open eyes and a willing heart. But we can't make entertainment the goal. We can't make the Gospel the secondary objective. If we do, before long our faith will look scarily similar to the junk that comes out of hollyweird and nobody will ever come close to the radical transformation that comes from accepting Christ.

Look, our faith isn't supposed to look like the world. What we say shouldn't sound like the messages that everyone else is sharing. Our goals won't be the same as the world's are. They shouldn't. It's this fine line between getting people interested in our faith and just getting their approval of our ways. But when push comes to shove, we have to always side with sharing the truths found in God's word and not worrying about if the music was catchy enough.

My point is that we've been "entrusted with the Gospel." We have this tremendous gift that has, can, and will continue to save lives. We can't allow it to become watered down just so that the world will be more likely to accept it. We can't lose the point of the Gospel. It's not about being like the world and doing what everyone else is okay with doing. It's about being changed by the gift of Christ. That's what matters, that's all that will ever matter!