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All throughout this advent series, we’ve kept our focus on the Christmas Story. A newly-wed couple with a secret from God. A couple, old in age, with a sturdy hope in his promises. A town of Bethlehem where sheep were raised before their slaughter. A stable tucked away in obscurity. A deep waiting and then a cry in the night. A little baby. A star in the sky. A pack of shepherds. A caravan of wise men. Prayers answered. God with us. Hope’s arrival. 

This is the staple story of this season and yet it is only just the beginning of what is to come as Jesus’ life unfolds over the next 33 years. He will grow up. He will spend time in the temple. He will learn the Torah inside and out. He will finally step into his God-given calling at the age of 30 and, for three years, he will walk and talk with people. He will perform miracles. He will diagnose pain. He will give people the good news. 

All the while, he will know the path set before him. He will know the human ending to the story and he will know that this human ending must take place for an eternal beginning to fully be handed to us. 

As we’ve read and earmarked the Christmas story,  I could come out of my research hole and confidently sum up all of the nativity into three words: come and see. 

That’s the point of this story. That’s what God was inviting everyone, no matter their circumstances or standing in society, into. He wanted everyone– the young and the old, the lost and forgotten, the excluded and the outcasted– to come and see what He was doing. The new story unfolding. The new hope for the world.

But as we exit out of this season, and close this storybook tomorrow, I want us to go out singing with three new words. A new commission. A great commission that came straight off the lips of Jesus: Go and tell. 

I can hear him saying these words as I write this: You’ve come and you’ve seen. You’ve been good and faithful in that. Now it’s time to step into the mission. I want you to take the good news with two hands and extend it to all people, leaving no one out. This good news is plentiful and never-ending. There is more than enough for everyone. You’ve come and you’ve seen it with your own two eyes. Now go and tell the world. This is my command to you. 

I cannot leave you with a guidebook for how to do that but I will tell you this: I used to be so fearful about sharing the Gospel because I had this one vision of me standing on a city street stopping people on their morning commute as I tried to shove Gospel tracks in their face. Because of this invasive vision, I didn’t want to share my faith for a really long time. I didn’t want to offend people. I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. 

But here’s what I’ve learned in age: you can just share your story. You can tell people about the good in your life. You can report the miracles without stuffing a message down someone’s throat. 

People are always looking for something. Always hunting. Always wanting that significance. And if you’ve found your fill in Jesus then why not just say it like that? Why not just go and tell someone whenever you get that next chance: hey, I found something that really changed my life. I can’t speak for your story but I can tell you mine. 

If God has been real in your life then just say that. 

Share your truth. 

No frills necessary. 

No extra details need apply.

Just share your truth. 

Just tell them what you’ve found.

And let God cover the rest. 

READING 

Mark 16:15

 

STEAL THIS PRAYER

Dear God, I want to be braver with my own story. Illuminate the parts that matter and help me to share them with people who need hope. Open the doors for me to go and tell the others of the grace I’ve found. I’ll share my truth and let you cover the rest.