The Good News – Not Just For Us to Know
The Psalms are full of reminders of God’s goodness, beauty, splendor, majesty, sovereignty and faithfulness. Just read these bits from Psalm 104:
He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.
He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread that sustains their hearts.
He made the moon to mark the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.
It’s such a GRACE to know who God is—to have knowledge of His word, experience His goodness, know His protection, be confident in His plans and trust His faithfulness!
But I know that what I know is not known to so many others I do life with!
Yet all too often—for some reason—I keep this life changing knowledge all to myself.
Can you relate?
Not too long ago, I heard Gary Haugen speak. Gary is president and CEO of International Justice Mission. I was incredibly impacted by his passionate reminder that God never intended that He be known just by a few of us or that we keep knowledge of Him all to ourselves. That, in fact, the only reason He chose to make Himself known to those He has, is so that He could appeal to the world through us.
Christians know how much God loves the world. We know that He is good! We’ve experienced the good news and know the stuff of Psalm 104 and consequently have a world view that provides us trust, comfort, and peace.
But truth be known, most of the world experiences anything but comfort, peace goodness and good news. They don’t see the world through a Psalm 104 lens. Most of the world lives in so much darkness. Most of the world lives in so much pain. And that’s why God has given us the knowledge He has and allowed us to experience His grace – that others might know it and experience it, too, in the midst of and in spite of the brokenness.
God was never meant to be our best kept secret.
What about those who don’t know Him yet?
What’s the plan for those living in darkness and experiencing pain?
How will they see God’s goodness?
What is God’s plan for making it known and believable that He is good?
We’re it! We’re the plan. It’s our job to share what we know. And living in a way that demonstrates the love of Jesus to people in the world makes God’s gospel message what He always intended it to be: Good news that can be known and believed.
Jeff Klein, National Church Partnership Director
with Pam Klein, On Q Editor