Sunday, November 16, 2014

Engaging with the Gospel

I think the most powerful thing Satan can do is to get us to “like” the Gospel of Christ without having a real relationship with it.

There are certainly times in my own life that I treat the Gospel like a Facebook page of someone I admire. I like it, but let it do all the work. I wait for that page to post stuff, and if I’m lucky, I might see it come across in my Facebook feed.  If it’s something good, I read it or watch it and like it, and if really good, I might share it. For example, Church on Sunday can sometimes feel like a post in my life. I’m never disappointed by it coming and I often “like” it. But do I engage with it? And then during the week, do I continue to engage with the Gospel in a way that builds a real relationship? Or am I just a passive “fan”?

This was on my mind a lot today. As I pondered this, I also extended the thought to my relationship with my Savior. Am I a “fan”? Or am I truly engaged in a relationship with Him?  Am I just watching His “posting” in my life, or am I also reaching out to him in active prayer and repentance and service? If I were to evaluate my relationship with God, Christ, and the Gospel in general, where would I put myself?

When I post things on Facebook, I have a few solid people who are awesome at commenting and liking and sharing on a consistent basis. I really appreciate that. However, I also have some friends who I (sorry) forget that we are even connected – because we both never seem to engage in anything beyond being “friends” and watching without engaging. And some of them seem to never login anymore.

This is understandable with social media, but with Christ and with the Gospel I can’t afford to not engage.

For example, if you aren’t engaged with your favorite brand online, how would you know when the sales promotions are and how to take advantage of them? How would you be updated on things? You would only passively. Have you ever bought something and then later realized that had you done some research or even just paid attention to things, that you would have seen a promotion on that thing – but instead you missed it?! I have. Not a great feeling.

Our Father in Heaven is always trying to feed us information. Do we “hide” it, “unfollow” it, or just plain not log in? Do we passively wait for God to send us a message through trials and difficulty? Or do we actively seek Him out and engage?


As I have pondered this about myself, I realize that I have a long ways to go to feel like I really, truly engage with the Gospel enough to take advantage of all the opportunity it provides me. So tonight I write this in gratitude for having this thought being “posted” in my heart today and for the Lord engaging with me through the Spirit. Now, I share it with you.

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