We cared so much for you that we
were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own
lives, because you had become dear to us.
I like to cook for people. I get
this from my mother. Growing up we had people over to our house all the time,
sometimes even uninvited, to eat an amazing meal made with love, passion and
bacon grease. I look to recreate those memories in my own home almost every
week.
When someone eats at your house they
get to experience who you really are. They get to experience your home, your
hospitality, your family, and your taste palette. You get to share who you are
with them. When you cook for someone, you get to share a part of your very
being with them--flavor, history, life experience.
For instance, I make my own hummus.
It really isn’t hard to do, actually. People tell me that my hummus is very
tasty. But, that isn’t the only reason I make it. I make it because I was
taught how to make it by a young Palestinian man who worked for me as my very
first intern when I started out as a youth pastor. As he taught me how to make
it, he shared the story of how, when he eats hummus at his home, they get a
large bowl, fill it with hummus and sit around as a family and just talk and eat.
They don’t even use silverware! Fascinating, huh? So, I make hummus because
that story is now part of my life story and because sharing it helps keep that
story alive.
Now, what does this have to do with
1 Thessalonians 2:8? Paul, when he was letting the Thessalonians know why
understanding the Gospel was so important, linked the knowledge of who God is,
and what He did for us, with encountering people. He lets them know that
understanding the Gospel goes hand in hand with understanding the life of the
people with whom you share it.
I know this to be true in my own
life. When I was in junior high I practically lived at the house of my youth
pastor. He had all kinds of awesome things in his house, but I hung out there
because he shared his life with me. I even helped him change the oil in his car
once and I know nothing about cars! He showed me that Jesus was part of his
life and I wanted it because I loved my youth pastor.
Paul is letting the people of
Thessalonica know that he cared for them so much that he didn’t just want to
tell them about Jesus and then get out of town. He wanted to share his life
with them. And why? Because they occupied a special place in his heart. He
loved them as people.
As Candeo begins to share the Gospel
of Jesus Christ may we take a page from Paul and love the people around Cedar
Falls/Waterloo so much that we want them not only to know the unconditional
love of Jesus, but to be interpersonally connected with those they share it
with! This is the true, life-on-life Gospel that Paul is talking about.
People ask me for my hummus recipe
once they taste it. I always say, “It isn’t mine, but I’ll gladly give it to you.”
How much more so the Gospel? The Good News of Jesus isn’t ours, but because we
know it is “tasty” we need to gladly share it with the world around us.
Spend time in prayer today asking
God to reveal a person whose spiritual appetite could be fed by being involved
in Candeo. Then, go make them a tasty treat and deliver it to them, inviting
them to the first September service of Candeo. You will be glad you did.
God, we have tasted and seen that
You are good. Use us to help others get a taste for You too. We love You. Help us to love people too. May we live
hospitable lives, not just opening up our homes, but also our hearts to
neighbors and passers-by. May they feel welcomed and wanted by us and want what
we have as we reveal with gentleness and respect the most important thing in
our lives: it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us. Help us to invite
people into our lives and by so doing invite them into Christ.
