A Life that Infects

In the early days of the church, the gospel was a virus, an infection, a contagion.  Without power or sanction from government or the religious powers that be, the gospel spread as communities of people infected with the contagion of hope and transformation gathered, lived faithfully, and through their lives witnessed to something that was enticing to others.

I love this passage from the 2^nd Chapter of Acts: ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Ok…so the gospel is supposed to be a contagion, spreading from person to person, group to group, indiscriminately affecting anyone that gets in its path.  But…that isn’t always the case.  There are those that will have nothing to do with the gospel because they have witnessed it treated more like a repellant than an infection of hope.  Today, I want to briefly look at some of the ways in which the gospel can become a repellent.  

1.)    Those who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk:  People aren’t enamored by information or verbal presentations.  They are looking for authenticity.  The infection only spreads if people are engaged by a community of people that live lives that adhere to the good news they proclaim.

2.)    Holier than thou attitudes:  Too often the church is seen as the evangelists of judgment and condemnation instead of heralds of really good news.  When people witness in the lives of those that “supposedly have it altogether” a condescending attitude toward those that are outside the church, they are put off by the lack of authenticity.  The gospel is good news to those “on the way” and not those “that have already arrived”…those who are coming to terms each and every day with their broken and messy lives.  Living faithfully means dealing faithfully with our stuff.  

3.)    Politics instead of Jesus:  When the church aligns itself too closely with any one political party or agenda and doesn’t focus enough on the life changing power of Jesus and the coming of His Kingdom, people are repelled.  Folks are put off when we make allegiance to ideology as a prerequisite to belief.  The Kingdom of God calls into question all ideologies.  

These are just a few ways in which the gospel is treated as a repellant.  Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience.  Perhaps you’ve inadvertently kept the gospel from becoming a contagion to those around you.  Simply ask this question, “Would what people see in my life be something they’d care to be infected with?”