Sharing Jesus with others has more to do with how we are built by God, instead of with how we must force ourselves to do what we are reluctant to do. What do I mean by this statement?

Matt. 5:14-15 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.

2Cor. 4:13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture— “I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak,

It is a law of God that whoever believes the truth as it is in Jesus will make it known. The ideas and convictions of the individual mind will seek for expression. Mind, Character, and Personality, 419:2

We shall do well to remember that transgressors are never satisfied to be sinners alone. They will, both by precept and example, seek to draw others away to do as they have done. Youth Instructor, July 1, 1897

Sharing the way we choose to live is how we are literally wired! God made us to do just that! Followers of God share their faith in God with others, and sinners are never satisfied to be sinners alone.

In one sense this is neither wrong nor strange; it is how God made us! Expressing ourselves is a gift of God! It reveals/supports God’s non-coercive nature and the existence of true freedom—freedom needs influence to be both real and successful. Expressing ourselves also supports human dignity for it is based on the premise that what we say and do is significant, life-changing even!

Expressing ourselves though became a destructive action only when sin commandeered it for its own ends. Perhaps this is part of what Paul meant when he wrote:

Romans 7:8 But sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead.

Sin uses the good gifts God gave for its own ends; without the use of these God-given gifts sin would be dead in the water, unable to do anything.

But on the positive side, when we embrace Jesus, and as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus, then we share Jesus with others! This is how we are wired!

Questions

Is it possible to “disobey” the law of self-expression? Or is it written into our core of being? Why do some remain more quiet about their beliefs and practices? While others trumpet such things to all within their sphere of influence? How does personality mesh with the idea of the law of self-expression? How can you and I become better at sharing our faith in Jesus?

Along a different vein, but one still linked to sharing Jesus with others:

Then let our lessons be appropriate for the day in which we live, that we may be co-laborers with God…. Christ is on the field of action, working with those who are laboring for him, that truth may appear in its divine, unchangeable, and eternal character. The Holy Spirit is at work. Divine agencies are combining with the human to take the important truths from their worn-out setting, reframe them, and hang them in memory’s halls, and call men [humanity] to the obedience of God’s commandments. Youth Instructor, October 27, 1898 [inclusivity mine]

He [Jesus] passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson that was appropriate to the time and the circumstances. The Desire of Ages, 91

Questions

How can changing something so that it is appropriate for the day in which we live make that thing appear in its divine, unchangeable, and eternal character?

Do you feel that we as Adventists are doing well at taking important truths, that perhaps have become worn-out, and reframing them for our day and current circumstances? No matter how you answer, how might we do better at this?

Jesus, Ellen White wrote, passed by no human being as worthless, but do we do otherwise, as God’s people in the past seemed to have done?

It was not God’s purpose that the light he had given to patriarchs and prophets should be confined to the Jewish nation. He designed that it should be carried to all parts of the earth. But the Israelites misinterpreted the command given them in regard to intermarrying with other nations. This command was given to guard God’s people from idolatry. But they made it a wall of separation, a barrier to any communication with other nations. They regarded themselves as the only people whom God would acknowledge, and looked upon all others as despised by him. Thus they became narrow in their ideas; and while separating themselves from the heathen, they also separated themselves from God. Youth Instructor, October 5, 1899

Questions

Do we think as the Israelites did, that we are the only people that God acknowledges and look upon all others as despised by Him?

What is your relationship with others within your community? In what ways do you “hang out” with others within your community? Should we engage only in Adventist sponsored ministries? Why or why not?