Reaching All People with God’s Love
Jesus gave us a commission to preach the gospel to all the world as a witness, saying that the end would come after that. Therefore, the greatest activity we could engage in is sharing the message of God’s salvation and His soon coming.
Through Jesus’ life, we see an example of how to do this: He came down to us, came close to us and met our needs. He ministered to all classes—rich and poor. He went beyond the Jewish nation, ministering to Samaritans and Canaanites. He healed people, fed people, met a need at a wedding and ultimately gave His life to save anyone who would respond and receive Him as savior. Scripture tells us He desires all people to be saved and is not willing that any should perish. This shows there is no class of people or individuals whom He would not go out of His way to reach.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:22–23, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” Paul followed Jesus’ example under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So, what does it mean in today’s world to become all things to all people? I believe it means being outward-focused—always looking for opportunities to minister and share Jesus. It also means meeting people where they are, not expecting them to come to us; not trying to change them first but instead listening, showing sympathy and seeking to serve wherever possible.
In today’s world, many people are not attending church or public events; instead, they are tuning in to media of all types. Podcasts and programming on websites, television and radio are where most people are watching and listening. Individuals, leaders and churches should be asking themselves how we can prayerfully use these tools. Some preachers encourage their listeners to hit the share button on their phone or device when watching a sermon or program to give family and friends an opportunity to view it. I have often shared sermons with family and friends that I enjoyed. God may also be ready to inspire us with new and creative approaches to sharing the gospel through media.
Why not pause now and ask God to teach us how to be fishers of people through whatever outreach tool He wants us to use? The modern-day fulfillment of Paul’s words, “becoming all things to all people,” undoubtedly includes today’s multimedia platforms. I can almost visualize Paul (had the technology been available to him) having a podcast or media program to reach people who cannot be reached any other way. Let’s pray about how we can do the same.
