"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'" -Mark 16:15(ESV)
As children, I'm sure your parents, as well as mine, taught you to share your possessions. In Bible class we teach children to share their toys, to take turns, and to "play nice". As we grow older and older, this is ingrained in us more and more. We have the mentality of "These things are mine, but I can share them." But how often do we share the Bible? How often do we treat the Bible like a child treats his precious, favorite dinosaur toy, only to be played with by him? How often do we treat the Bible as a little girl cherishes her precious dolly, with pretty golden hair and soft rosy cheeks? Yes, the Bible is precious, but the precious things are ones we ought to share the most. Do you?
We are told all the time, "Study your Bible every day." "Work on your memory verses." "Go to Bible class." "Pay attention during services." and "Don't forget your daily Bible reading today." But we forget that there is more to Christianity than just studying God's Word. Yes, these things are crucial for our walk with God, but they aren't the only things that are. I once heard the illustration of a teapot and a tea cup. See, a teapot is good because it stores the tea, but it also pours it out into other vessels. It fills until it's empty, then goes back to the kettle to get full again. The tea cup, however, simply holds the tea. It is filled up to the brim, but then never shares into other cups, thus ending the cycle, and the tea sits and sits and never does anything. Oh but you have tea! But it never does any good, does it?
Often times, we fill ourselves up with knowledge, but we never empty it out. This is why it's important that we make sure and spread the Word to others. We are told all throughout the Bible to be a light (Matthew 5:13-16), to spread the Word to everyone (Matthew 28:18-20) and to set ourselves as examples no matter what age we are (1 Timothy 4:16). But we spend so much time studying these words, looking at the original Greek, studying context, and tearing each and every single one of these verses apart and putting them back together, that we forget what the point of all that is. What's the point in a teacup full of the sweetest concoction, yet sits there and simmers, never accomplishing anything? How useless is that? It's not only important that we do spend time studying God's Word, but we need to remember how crucial it is that we share the Word with others.
Of course, this goes back to love. If we love someone, how can we happily watch them journey on towards hell without them being aware of it, all because we're afraid that they may not like us anymore for talking about the Bible? That's not love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I am nothing." Let me ask you, do you love those around you? Are you a teapot? Are you a tea cup? Do you collect information without sharing it? Today I would like to encourage you to consider these things of yourself, and if you come to the conclusion that you aren't sharing the Word of God with those around you regularly, then change that. Talk to a friend, visit a neighbor. Do something now, because you never know when it's going to be too late.
Often times, we fill ourselves up with knowledge, but we never empty it out. This is why it's important that we make sure and spread the Word to others. We are told all throughout the Bible to be a light (Matthew 5:13-16), to spread the Word to everyone (Matthew 28:18-20) and to set ourselves as examples no matter what age we are (1 Timothy 4:16). But we spend so much time studying these words, looking at the original Greek, studying context, and tearing each and every single one of these verses apart and putting them back together, that we forget what the point of all that is. What's the point in a teacup full of the sweetest concoction, yet sits there and simmers, never accomplishing anything? How useless is that? It's not only important that we do spend time studying God's Word, but we need to remember how crucial it is that we share the Word with others.
Of course, this goes back to love. If we love someone, how can we happily watch them journey on towards hell without them being aware of it, all because we're afraid that they may not like us anymore for talking about the Bible? That's not love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I am nothing." Let me ask you, do you love those around you? Are you a teapot? Are you a tea cup? Do you collect information without sharing it? Today I would like to encourage you to consider these things of yourself, and if you come to the conclusion that you aren't sharing the Word of God with those around you regularly, then change that. Talk to a friend, visit a neighbor. Do something now, because you never know when it's going to be too late.
