Appendix 4. You Must Share the Gospel with Yourself First

Churches today pour all their energy into gathering people. They print tracts and scatter them; their members are gripped by the idea that only by bringing in many people can they earn a reward from God; and whoever becomes the year’s top evangelist swaggers as if they had won a great battle. Through such efforts churches keep growing and crowds flock in—so why is there so little power in the lives of Christians? Not knowing who they are, or why they believe in Jesus and go to church, or what any of it means, they carry around the Bible, the word of life. They hold that Bible, in which the word of life is written, as a mere token that they attend church—but how many times have they actually read it? They go to church so faithfully and rejoice that they can go to heaven, so why is there no laughter in them? Why do people who believe in a God of love quarrel over the things of this world, and why are the homes of the church so starved for love that husbands and wives, and children too, hate one another?

We tend to think that sharing the gospel is something we always do for others. But before it is done for others, evangelism means first bringing the gospel to yourself. Bring love to yourself; tell yourself to be patient; bring yourself the word of life, so that you meet God first, overcome the world, and live by the word—this is the evangelism that must come before all else. When I grow mature in the word, my husband or my wife is changed, and my children can live in the peace of heaven within that faith. When my home changes first, the neighbors nearby will see that life and come to meet God naturally. We must not forget that evangelism is not dragging people to church and sitting them down by force; evangelism is our own lives changing first. Then homes will find strength, the church will overflow with love for souls, and through those who live by God’s word, Christianity will gain strength and overcome the world.

If my church, my home, and everything I belong to revolve around me, the Kingdom of God will in the end come to ruin. The Kingdom of God, God himself, a church made one by God’s word and love… only a faith that revolves around God has power and strength. When the full gospel is not brought to people’s hearts, we see souls lose their strength, stumble over the obstacles of the world, and easily throw their lives away. People who call themselves Christians and yet take their own lives. People who pray to God and yet say life in this world is so hard they want to die… They act this way because they do not know that believing in God means rising above the world, and that this is faith. So we must ask: who will answer for this? I believe it is the pastors who must bear that responsibility. Do not try to swell the church’s outward size; feed your people’s souls their fill of the truth, and urge them on until they grow to maturity in the word. If you hold them fast, so that they do not go out into the world thirsting for what it offers, then Christianity, the church, and God’s people will not become a hollow shell.