What If You're the Only One?

How would your life change if you were the only Christian in your nation? In your state? Your county? Your city? Your neighborhood? Your family?

For some of you, those last two situations are very real.

When we consider what it would be like to be the only one ultimately responsible to deliver the good news to a group of people, we can start to feel the pressure that brings, and imagine how our lives would have to radically change. But is this hypothetical scenario really that hypothetical?

It's been said that Christians are the "fifth gospel," meaning that many (if not most) people will never read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, but they will "read" us. They will observe our life, take note of our priorities, and hear what we have to say about Jesus and the church. They will consider us--albeit mostly subconsciously--in such a way that their opinion of our God is shaped by the way we live. To put it another way: their information about the Lord is largely dependent on us.

This is an awesome and high calling. This is a privilege. As ambassadors for Christ, we have been given the position of delivering to our neighbors the good news about what Jesus has done for our salvation. For many, we are the only Christians they know. Therefore, we would do well to consider how our lives may need to radically change not only to communicate the gospel itself, but to communicate its primacy in our lives.