Do you ever think of yourself as an angel? Me neither. And my family, much as they love me, wouldn’t let such a perception last long if I did!
But seriously; the truth is that we are all called to be angels.
In Greek, the medium and the message are the same word. Aggelos is the word for both message and messenger. And it is from euaggelos, good news, that we derive evangelism and evangelical.
Since we are all called to proclaim the Good News, we are all, in a profound sense, called to be angels. Or called to be evangelical, if you like.
And since the primary purpose of this magazine is essentially storytelling about our faith (conveying messages about the Good News), it can be quite properly called an evangelical magazine.
Evangelism is the focus of our cover story this month, too. One of the challenges for most of us is that we’re private about personal matters; faith being one of them.
Self – described extroverts are usually readily forthcoming talking about their faith. But not everyone can do that. And it has a downside in that such an approach can sometimes feel coercive.
Can introverted Christians also be evangelical?
The answer is not only yes; it’s that we should all be evangelicals. That doesn’t mean we all have to be the same.
One of the virtues of the Natural Church Development program many PCC congregations are using is that it helps people untie their tongue so that they can be evangelical.
Learning to be evangelical is knowing your own faith story and becoming confident enough to share it when the opportunity arises.
That’s little – e evangelism. But it’s important. In fact, it’s most of what the articles in this issue’s cover story address. Being evangelical doesn’t mean you have to stride the stage or declaim from the pulpit.
Nor does it mean you have to convert people. Leave that to God.
What it does mean is that when someone sees how you live and asks you what motivates you, you feel as confident in sharing your faith experience as you would in explaining why you chose the career you did.
You don’t need to have had a conversion experience like Saul/Paul, either. You don’t need to see evil lurking around every corner. (And, no, you don’t need to be angelic!)
Jesus doesn’t suggest we’ll be judged by any of these things, not even by which doctrines we believe. What he does say clearly is that God is love, and judgment will be based on whether we consistently extended our love (God’s gift to us) towards others as God has extended it to us.
Read the so – called Last Judgment passage in Matthew 25. Visit the prisoner, clothe the needy, feed the hungry, etc. In other words, love God and love your neighbour and yourself as beloved children of God.
Interestingly, this judgment story is closely followed by the story of Jesus being extravagantly anointed by the anonymous woman.
Matthew’s juxtaposition seems apt: God’s love for us is utterly extravagant. All we are asked to do is love extravagantly in turn.
If we do that, surely it isn’t really too difficult to explain if people ask us what motivates us. And that turns us into evangelists or evangelicals. Maybe even angels!
May I draw your attention to the Record’s annual appeal that begins this month. If you’ve donated before, you’ll receive a letter from me under separate cover. If you haven’t donated, you’ll find all the information in the envelope that came with this magazine.
This year, we are seeking your support for a fund for developing young Christian journalists both in Canada and overseas where the denomination is involved in mission and development work so that they can share their Good News stories with you and others.
I hope you will be able to support this appeal generously. Thank you!
